


The Art of Being Soft

by candylestrade



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: FIRST MULTICHAPTER FIC! WHOS READYYY, M/M, OC: Moi, OC: Tundra, OC: Zeph ‘Fizz’ Sharkbait, OR IS IT, Rivals to Lovers, oh the power of those two tags, one sided pining, please enjoy ive been working on planning this fic out for 2 days, raph has DID, slowburn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:27:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 20,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25621360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candylestrade/pseuds/candylestrade
Summary: Raphael doesn’t know who this fish guy is, but he does know he was just signed up for a battle royale in a matter of moments.Zeph ‘Fizz’ Sharkbait is pretty sure this teen turtle is going to be a good fighter for the tournament; he just hopes it’s enough to get him in Big Mama’s good graces.
Relationships: Raphael (TMNT)/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 59





	1. Pulled in one direction

**Author's Note:**

> whos ready for some oc x canon slowburn rivals to lovers!!!!!!! nobody but thats ok

Big Mama’s office is dark as usual when Zeph enters it. He pads quietly over the carpet, towards the desk where he knows she is seated.

‘You wanted to see me, Big Mama?’

‘That is correct, my dear Fizzy Fish!’ The chair spins to face him. The spider yokai smiles up at him in her disguised form. ‘You’ve been doing very well in my battle royales, but we do rather need a new fighter since Heinous Green pulled out after your… unorthodox win.’

Zeph; or Fizz, as she tended to call him; let out a low grumble. ‘We both know I won fair and square. It’s entirely his problem if he can’t fight well underwater.’

‘Yes, and we also both know that your dear witchy teammate snuck you a blinding fluid before the match.’ Big Mama’s smile seemed to grow wider.

He stayed still. She was going to offer him a way out of this; he’d been through enough of these meetings to know Big Mama always offered an escape.

‘Bring me a replacement fighter, and I can continue to offer my… protection, should you require it.’

‘We know I will. Both me AND my team.’

‘Certainly. Once you uphold your end of the deal.’

-

Raph stares down at his phone screen, refreshing his messages repeatedly. The last message was from Leo, 10 minutes ago;

_Leo: be with you in a few, big guy!_

_Donnie: Micheal stole my cookie stash._

_Leo: they were arguing for 5 minutes lol_

He sighed, and took another look around the area. Nobody of note, just a couple shoppers in the street and a fish yokai by the fountain.

Today was supposed to be a family day out in the Hidden City. Raph had gone ahead to the meeting place to double check if their ‘disguises’ worked. They had actually just changed their outfits, as the Hidden City Police seemed dense enough to mistake them for different people if they changed their clothes. It had apparently worked, since Raph hadn’t been stopped for the full half hour he had been there. 

So here he was, in a mildly crowded marketplace, waiting for his brothers and dad. Alone.

He refreshed his messages.

Still nothing.

He refreshed them again.

‘Hey, are you alright?’

Raph nearly jumped out of his skin, then relaxed when he realised it was just the fish yokai from the fountain. He nodded, a little more relaxed.

‘I’m just waiting for my bros and pops. Who…’ Raph paused. Right. Stranger danger. ‘Wait, I’m not supposed to talk to anyone I don’t know.’

The fish boy blinked, then smiled. ‘Right. My name is Zeph, but you can call me Fizz. That’s my nickname. It’s Zeph, but phonetically backwards.’ 

Raph squinted down at the guy. He had dark grey scales, with slightly darker hair that was pushed back from his forehead. His eyes were larger than could be comfortably called normal, and were a deep red color. 

‘Right. The name’s Raphael.’

‘Raphael…’ Fizz smiled slightly. ‘Cool name. You ever fought before, Raphael?’

Raph blinked. ‘Have I ever what now?’

‘Fought. Battled. Engaged in combat.’ Fizz almost seemed to be mocking him now. He was grinning up at him with sharp, jagged teeth.

‘Of course! But, uh, why are you asking?’ He crossed his arms, a little more nervous than he should be.

‘Huh. Thought you seemed too soft for that.’ The yokai beamed at the look of indignation crossing Raph’s features, and handed him a paper. ‘Sign up for this and you can prove you’re a real fighter.’

Raph glared, and pulled the paper from his hands and gave it a cursory glance. ‘Battle Royale? Some fancy kid is trying to get me to sign up for a tournament?’ 

‘Some reigning champion is trying to challenge you to take the crown from him, actually,’ Fizz laughed, ‘but if you wanna view me as some fancy kid, at least TRY to take me down first.’

Raph grinned, and pulled out a pen and scribbled his name down onto the participants list. ‘You’ve got yourself a deal, pretty-boy.’ 

The fish yokai smiled at him, seemingly more composed than before, and took the paper back. ‘Then I guess I’ll be seeing you tonight, Raphael. Don’t be late, I wanna introduce you to my team before the fight starts.’

‘You got it…’ Raph paused. Hold on. ‘Wait, what exactly…’ 

He looked around, and cursed. Fizz had made a quick escape. Before Raph could change his mind, maybe?

‘Raph! Hey!’ 

Leo’s voice from behind him made him turn. ‘Guys! Where have you been?! You know Raph gets stressed waiting!’ 

‘Who was that, Raphie?’ Mikey asked, clambering up to his preferred spot on top of Raph’s shell.

‘Some guy signing me up for a tournament tonight. You guys gotta come watch me compete!’

‘Sure thing, dude. But first, we GOTTA check out the yokai food market…’

-

Fizz stared down at the scrawl on the sign-up sheet. The red pen was hard to miss on the crumpled black and white sheet.

‘Raphael, huh? Hope he puts up a good fight.’


	2. ... And pushed from another

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raph arrives at the Battle Nexus, and begins to realize what kind of trouble he's gotten himself into.

The Battle Nexus looms above them, tall, imposing, and loud. Okay, Raphael, you know you have to breathe. In, and out, Raph.

_I’m not sure about this._

“Are you sure about this, Red one?” Splinter asks. "I'm sure we could figure out a way for you to back out. Big Mama is not to be trifled with."

_Listen to Dad!_

"I’ll be fine, pops. Besides, I gotta show that Fizz guy that I’m tougher than he thinks!" Raph gives his worried-looking father a big grin, trying to ignore the tightening feeling in his stomach, and walks into the fighters entrance. "See ya in the stands! You better be cheering for me!"

Leaving his family behind to find their way to the spectators area, Raph double checks the signs, tapping his fingers on the little paper map he’d picked up earlier.. This way to the prep room. Got it. This is fine. This is great!

_You’re not even convincing me. And I LIVE in your BRAIN._

“Shut up, Mind Raph.”

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of another visit from my favourite snappy reptilly-bee?"

He froze. Big Mama was directly in front of him in the corridor. Not again, not again, why did he keep coming back to the Hidden City...

"Hi, Big Mama…?" He tried to make himself as small as possible. Big Mama was the last person he wanted to run into right now, especially after how their last meeting went. Of course, acting small when Raph was as big as he was never really worked. 

"Oh! Goodness, am I to assume that you’re the fresh fighter my dear Sharkbait fetched for me? How splendiferous!"

"Sharkbait? You mean Fizz?" Raph peered down at the spider woman smirking at him. "Yeah, he signed me up for this. What about it?"

Big Mama looked him up and down. "You don't seem to be the type to be without your brothers, turtley-boo. Are you aware this is a team extravaganza?” She tapped a long finger to her chin, and smiled. “Or do you prefer to work alone?"

Alone?

No, no way. Usually always with his brothers. Being alone sounds terrible.

But Fizz hadn’t mentioned anything about a team, had he?

Alone. Oh no.

Big Mama smiles at him, and touches a hand to his forearm. "Is there a problem?"

"Raphael! There you are!"

Raph looked up to see Fizz approaching from the corridor behind Big Mama. The crime boss gave him one last cursory glare before stalking off down the other way towards an elevator. Fizz watched her go with an odd look on his face, then turned to Raph.

"You okay? She doesn't usually talk to participants."

"I… we…" Raph stared at his hands. "We've met before." 

"Oh yeah?" Fizz smiled at him. "Then at least you have an idea of how she works. The prep room is over this way, I"ll show you."

-

The prep room is loud, and busy. Certainly more relaxing than the quiet, empty corridors. Fizz leads Raph over to a bench where two figures sit; one very small, with a mess of tentacle-like hair covering their face, and one broader, more muscular feline with a small pointed hat floating just above their head.

"This is Moi, and Tundra. They're my team. Moi is on defense, Tundra does distraction." Fizz gestures to the small one, then the cat. Moi pulls their hair out of their face, to reveal one large eye and a very wide, teeth-filled mouth that grins at him. Tundra gives a lazy wave, and a slow smile. 

"Heyyyy. Guessin’ you’re the new fighter the boss wanted. That’s cool." Tundra drawls. She leans back on the bench, and pulls out a metal pipe and begins to twirl it. "You ready for the battle?"

Raph is still a little caught up in a staring contest with the one called Moi, but nods. "Got my tonfas. All I need."

Moi grins wider, somehow. "THIS ONE IS CONFIDENT, ZEPH." Raph grimaces. Their voice is like nails down a blackboard.

"Great to meet you. Now, I’m gonna… go stand over here." He stomps off, a little more hastily than intended.

Fizz watches him go, silently. Tundra glances at him.

"He seems too kind for this." She starts throwing and catching the pipe. Fizz frowns.

"Maybe. But he's definitely strong. And hopefully he’ll at least put up enough of a fight for me to enjoy it."

"YOU CHOSE HIM BECAUSE HE IS SOFT, DIDN'T YOU. SNEAKY." Moi flops over upside-down on the bench.

"Are you trying to cheat Big Mama again, Fizz? You know it didn’t work last time. She made you fight solo for a week."

"It's not even cheating! It’s not my fault if this guy turns out to be too gentle for the Nexus." Fizz grumbles, but hides a smirk. "And if Big Mama thinks that it is, what can I do?"

Tundra shakes her head, and Moi lets out a shrill laugh.

"PRAY!"

-

Raph stands on the sand, glancing around at the other competitors around him. There are yokai of all sizes here, many of them seeming like they just barely didn't make the cut to be full-time fighters. He shuddered as he remembered Leo talking about Kraken Tom.

_At least we’re not taking on that thing, huh?_

Raph nodded to himself, and settled into a battle-ready stance. The dust around them kicked up from the sudden shift in movement, and a hush fell over the watching audience. He caught a brief glimpse of his brothers up in the stands, before Big Mama’s voice rang out over the stadium.

"Let the Battle Nexus Royale commence!"

Cheering erupted from the crowd at the same time as Raph saw Fizz, on the opposite end of the ring, lock eyes with him. The boy grinned, winked, and then was obscured in smoke. 

_Was that a smoke bomb?!_

Raph couldn’t even think of an answer before the chaos erupted around him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how do you like fizz and his team? any theories on big mamas ulterior motives?? CHIME OFF IN THE COMMENTS BRO


	3. Into the dust and dirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle: START!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLACE YOUR BETS!

The battle had been going on for what felt like hours. Raph (and Mind Raph) was already exhausted, but despite that, this had actually been kind of fun so far. Maybe he could actually be a professional fighter… 

_ Ugh. Dude, you have GOT to focus.  _

"I…  _ grk.  _ I'm trying!"

_ You're gonna want to get that weasel off your throat first.  _

"Don't you think that's what I'm doing, Mind Raph?!" 

Raph stumbled backwards, and threw one of his attackers far into the battle that surrounded him. He'd been fighting for about a while with some short rabbit yokai before these three weasels… stoats… noticed him and attacked. Donnie would know what these are. He might be able to get a better look at them if they stopped trying to throttle him.

_ C’mon, let me help. You’re not doin’ so well. _

"I got this. Back off!"

The small grey weasel wrapping itself around his arm paused. "Who's he talking to?"

"Who cares?!" Shouts a larger brown one, steadying itself on top of Raph’s shoulder. "Take ‘im out! He-  _ ACK- _ "

Raph cuts it off mid-sentence, and throws it away from him in the other direction. He winced as he picked up the third. 

_ They’re not actually cute little animals, Raph. They’re opponents. _

"I'm sorry anyway!" He shouts after them as he chucks the third, and backs up a little to observe the carnage around him. A large portion of the fighters were already unconscious, and there was a moving smoke cloud across the ring where he assumed Fizz and his team were battling. That’s… a fun tactic.

_ Okay, who’s next? Find an opponent before they find us. _

Raph looks around, trying to ignore the acrid smell of smoke and blood around him. The shouting from the other fighters had dimmed, but the cheers from the crowd still filled every inch of the stadium. It was overwhelming, but he knew his brothers were up there cheering for him, too. He hoped they thought he was doing good. 

_ What did I just say?! Focus, find an- _

"Y- You! What are you doin’ here?!"

Raph halted. ‘Oh, crap.’

_ Not this guy again. _

The rat yokai he had met during his last excursion to the Hidden City.

"I can’t believe you’d show your face here!" The man snarled. "Youse got a lot of shit to pay for, Not-Heinous Green!"

"Uh, it’s Raph. And why am I paying? Y’know how much being in jail sucked, ya jerk rat?!" Raph snapped, but didn’t drop his defensive stance. 

"That’s Dastardly Danny to you, punk!" In a flash of silver, Danny made a swipe towards him.

_ That’s a knife, dude!  _

Raph dodged, and tried to trip Danny as he went past him. The rat avoided it, and whipped the blade back to cut Raph deep in his upper arm. He yelped, and staggered backwards. 

"It's not my fault you guys decided I was your leader! That’s entirely your own problem!"

"Maybe if you hadn’t lied and said you were Heinous Green, we wouldn’t have even bothered with ya!"

_ He’s not wrong. _

Raph made a quick decision, and went to tackle Danny to the ground. The criminal twisted, but couldn’t get out of the way in time, and landed awkwardly on his arm. 

"Agh! Shit, you freakin’ huge lump of-"

Smoke erupted around them, and Raph yelled and staggered back. He whipped around, then heard Danny cry out, and was cut off. 

_ Uh, what the hell? _

Two golden points of light glimmered in the direction of the shout, and Raph squinted towards them.

"Danny?"

The lights turned towards him, and froze in place. Raph gulped.

"Not Danny."

Suddenly, the lights vanished, and a slamming force tackled him from the front and knocked him to the ground.

"Ha-HA! Take that, you- Wait, Raphael?"

Fizz was crouched on top of Raph’s plastron, peering down at him with pitch black irises.

_ Weren’t they red before? _

Fizz sprung off of him before Raph could sneak an attack in, and backed off into a defensive stance.

"Smooth fighting. Kinda glad you made it this far, honestly."

Raph stood up and glanced around him, and saw they were the last two standing. 

"Kinda surprised you're as tough as you claim," Raph joked, "Considering your skinny little arms that were pinning me just now."

Fizz gave a mock-gasp. "How dare you! Let me show you exactly what these ‘skinny little arms’ are capable of!"

Raph watched as Fizz shrugged off the leather jacket, threw it to the side and settled into a battle stance. 

_ Alright, Raphael. Let"s see what he can do. _

-

Fizz just stared as Raphael put his palms together and inhaled. Just who was this guy? How had he made it to the final two when he was just some dude he picked up off the street?

Well. No more pulling punches, then. 

Fizz darted to the side of his opponent, stirring up dust around them both as he struck him in the arm. Raph grunted, but didn’t waste the opportunity to follow his movements and kick out at Fizz’s torso. It connected, and he felt himself knocked back to the ground with a thud.

_ Shit,  _ this guy was hard to dodge around. 

He noticed the shadow above just in time, and rolled out of the way before the fist punched into the ground where his head had just been with much less force than he expected. Fizz swiped a claw at Raph’s leg, and managed to cut deep into his thigh. The snapping turtle yelped, and staggered backwards.

Success. Fizz shifted into a crouch, then dived to tackle Raphael into the ground again. Raph was knocked off-balance, and the two tumbled into the dust of the arena. Stunned, Raph only had a moment to look up into the eyes of his attacker.

"Good game!" Fizz grinned, then slammed his palm down directly into Raph’s forehead, knocking his head back into the rocky floor, and the turtle slumped to the ground.

Fizz stood, breathing heavily. He could hear the crowd going wild around him, plus some closer voices that sounded more panicked than they should. He glanced into the stands near him to see three other turtles, all shouting towards the unconscious loser of the battle. He waved towards them.

"He'll be okay! Don’t worry!"

They seemed to halt, confused, before the blue-masked one flipped him the bird.

"He better be!" The smallest one shouted down at him. 

Fizz turned his attention back to the ring, ignoring the faint pangs of guilt and lifted his fist into the air in victory as he walked to the center of the arena. Big Mama’s voice rang out once again over the crowd.

_ "And the winner, and your reigning Battle Nexus Royale Champion, is once again Zeph ‘Fizz’ Sharkbait!" _

Fizz put on his best winners smile, and sneaked a glance back towards Raphael.

"Sorry about that, big guy. Maybe next time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT DID YOU THINK RAPH WAS GONNA WIN??? sorry


	4. Hey, wanna play 20 questions?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chat with the boss, and a visit to the infirmary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i made the team sharkbait references!! you can see what they look like over here (https://twitter.com/candylestrade/status/1289964450598891520?s=20) and i'll be posting more abt fizz a decent amount! 
> 
> enjoy this chapter!

Two sets of footsteps echo across the tiled floor that leads to the Battle Nexus infirmary. A pair of clunky boots, and the light tapping of heels.

“I really don’t think he’s a good match for a fighter, Big Mama. He was definitely pulling his punches out there.” Fizz declared. He had his hands shoved into his jacket pockets, fiddling with the red cloth mask he’d been given to hold onto by the first-aid staff. “I can make it up to you.”

“I’m quite sure you will!” Big Mama trilled, tilting her head towards him slightly. “And, believe it or not, my dear Fizzy-Wizz, I agree with you. If I’d known you were bringing the snappy turtle back here, I wouldn’t have sent you out in the first place.”

Fizz was silent. He could feel a long rip in the mask, and felt the guilt bubble up once again. 

“You did uphold your end of the bargain, I suppose.” The yokai woman prompted. Fizz let out a heavy sigh, stopping at the infirmary door. 

“I did. You’re going to let him go?”

Big Mama gave him a wide smile. “Of course! Do run along though; you need to rest up before your big 1v1 match next week!”

He nearly choked. “M-my what?”

“Consider it penance for failing to bring me a delightful new fighter. I do require something to entice my dear patrons in!” Big Mama leaned closer, and Fizz backed up slightly into the door. “What better spectacle than my Battle Royale Champion pitted against a formidable foe all on his lonesome?”

Fizz stared directly into her eyes. He hated how he could see his reflection in her glasses; scared, small, and trapped.

“Of course, Big Mama.”

The woman stepped back to her usual posture, and gave him a sweet smile. “Marvelous! You will show our poorly patient the door once he’s done, won’t you?” She turned and began walking back down the hallway, her heels tapping against the tiling and echoing through Fizz’s ears. He let out a breath, then turned to the door.

-

“That guy is a JERK! How did you let him convince you to fight, Raph?!” Leo’s voice was the loudest in the small room, which wasn’t that good for Raph, as he sat right next to him as Leo applied a bandage to his head.

“He really isn’t a bad guy, Leo. He just fights here.” He explained, giving Mikey a scratch on the head. His younger brother grinned up at him, currently curled up against Raph’s chest. 

“Which technically means he works for Big Mama. Y’know, the evil spider lady who tried to kill us.” Donnie looked up briefly from tapping on his wrist communicator as he leaned against the opposite wall. “Not exactly ‘good guy’ material, either.”

Splinter sighed on his chair next to the bed. “You are fine, Red, and that is what matters.” He grimaced. “Don’t expect me to carpool you here if you decide to do this again, though.”

Raph laughed nervously. He did feel guilty about essentially forcing his family to come back to the Battle Nexus, and then wait for him to regain consciousness in this weird hospital room. He didn’t even know where his mask had gone. 

“Raph? Raph, if you want this bandage on properly you’re gonna have to keep your head still, bud.” Leo grumbled at him, then jabbed him in the arm when Raph nodded without thinking. “I said STILL, dude! You are the WORST patient.”

Mikey laughed as Leo started digging tape out of his med kit pouch, then poked his chest. “You’re not gonna come back here though, right? I don’t really like the Battle Nexus.”

Raph laughed. “You an’ me both. Nah, no way I’m coming back here. This was definitely a one-off kinda thing.” 

A knock at the door drew all of their attention immediately. Raph glanced at the others, who looked back at him. 

“It’s open!” He shouted towards the door, and it clicked open gently to reveal Fizz. He took in the scene, and paused when he saw Raph’s family.

“Uh, hi. Just came to talk to Raphael?” The fish yokai blinked at the icy cold stare Leo was giving him. “It’ll only take a minute. Promise.”

Raph saw Leo look to Splinter, who didn’t take his eyes off Fizz. “Mr Zeph. Good fighting out there.” He stood and looked back at his other sons. “Come on, boys. We will give them a minute of privacy.”

Fizz seemed to realize how unlikely of a situation this was, and gave a quick bow. “Thank you, sir.” He immediately straightened back up when Splinter jabbed a finger into his face with a frown.

“ _One_ minute.” The rat stated, then walked out the door, followed by Donnie, who was ignoring him. Mikey scrambled over Raph to follow, and gave Fizz a quick wave as he left. Leo slowly stood, gave the universal ‘I’m watching you’ gesture towards him, and followed his family. The door clicked shut behind them, and Raph watched as Fizz stood there with his hands in his pockets.

“They don’t like me very much, huh?”

Raph let out a laugh. “You kiddin’? They watched you knock me out, of course they ain’t gonna like you!” He sat up a little straighter in bed, suddenly feeling just as apologetic as Fizz looked. “So, uh, what did you wanna talk about?”

Fizz pulled a familiar red cloth out his pocket, and held it out. “Had to give this back, for starters.”

“My mask!” Raph exclaimed, taking it back, then paused. “Jeez, how big even is that tear in it?” He muttered, thumbing over the frayed edge just above the left eye. 

“I can sew that up, if you want. Second thing,” Fizz sat himself next to Raph on the bed, “Big Mama doesn’t want you back here as a fighter. So, that’s good.”

“You’re telling me. If I never see that arena again, it’ll be too soon. What-” Raph started, but Fizz held up a hand.

“You didn’t give that fight your all. You were pulling your punches. Why? You could have won.” He fixed the snapping turtle with a cold, red-eyed stare. 

Raph shifted a little. “I don’t like hurting people. I like fighting, but not hurting people. You seemed nice enough, and I didn’t wanna actually… y’know, cave your skull in. That’d be messed up.” He looked away, then winced at the sharp pain in the side of his head. “You sure didn’t hold back, though.”

“I can’t afford to. This is my job, man.” Fizz shrugged, and pulled a small tin box out of his pocket. “Here, pass me the mask back.”

Raph obliged, and watched as Fizz pulled out a small needle and a spool of white thread. He started threading it through the tear in the mask, and gave him a hand wave. “Go ahead, ask some questions. This won’t take too long, but sitting in silence would be way too awkward.”

Watching as the thread was pulled taunt around the start of the rip, Raph inhaled. “How long have you been fighting here?”

“Since I was 14, so, nearly 2 years?” Fizz shrugged. “I was in a tight spot, and Big Mama offered a way out. Simple.”

Raph blinked. “What kind of tight spot?”

“Too personal, big guy.” Fizz spared him a quick glance between sewing. “Next question.”

“Okay, uh… what’s your favourite color?” Raph almost blushed at the incredulous look Fizz gave him.

“I… Are you serious?” The boy actually laughed,, then stopped himself with a cough. “Red, ironically. Second favourite is silver.” Fizz looked back down at his sewing. “Question for you, now. Do you hold back in all your fights?”

Raph gulped. “Usually, yeah. If it’s sparring with my brothers, I kinda have to. I’m the oldest, y’know, so I don’t wanna hurt them. Against bad guys, I don’t really pull my punches then, but…” 

“If it’s a friend, you don’t wanna actually cause lasting damage. I get that.” Fizz had reached the midway point of the tear, now, and Raph caught sight of his father glaring in from the doors window. He made a ‘shoo’ motion, and Splinter frowned and ducked back out of sight. Fizz continued to move his hands slowly and methodically with the needle and thread. “Maybe you should practice all-out fighting with people you don’t wanna hurt. Might help in the long run.”

Raph shook his head. “Nah, I told you. Don’t wanna. ‘Sides, I’ve got my paper sparring buddy for that.”

“What about me?” Fizz looked up from the mask. “Would you spar with me?”

All thoughts halted. Spar? With this guy who he met literally today, and literally knocked him out?

… 

Why didn’t it sound like a bad idea?

“Yeah, I think I would.” The words out of his own mouth almost surprised him. “Don’t know why. Today was kinda fun, apart from the whole… what's the word, emfezzlement?”

“Embezzlement, you mean? Nah, that's when you steal money from a business, dude. This was more of a classic rile-em-up con.” Fizz held the mask up in front of his face. “Done. Sorry I only had white thread, I’m usually just patching up my own shirts.”

Raph gently pulled the mask from Fizz’s hands, and tugged it back on over his head, wincing as it pulled across the new bandage. “Thanks.” He glanced back up at Fizz, seeing his eyes were back to the red colour. He stared. “Last question. Why do your eyes do that?”

“My-? Oh, right,” Fizz tapped at his temple, “Usually they’re red, but when I’m fighting they turn black. Typically I’d be fighting in dark places, so they’re like a camouflage fish thing or whatever. I can switch ‘em at will to glowing, when I’m in the Nexus. It’s a useful distraction. Even worked on you.”

“Yeah, don’t be thinking you’ll get me with that trick again.” He caught sight of Donnie tapping the glass, gave him a thumbs-up and shifted to stand up from the bed. “Gimme your phone, I gotta put my number in it.”

Fizz handed over his mobile, and shifted awkwardly as Raph tapped at the screen. 

“There ya go!” He handed the phone back, and stood up. “Walk us back outside? This place is huge!” He chose not to mention his pops had lived here for years.

Fizz nodded, and followed him to the door. Splinter and the others were waiting outside, and Donnie and Mikey immediately joined Raph and started bugging him about the conversation.

Brushing them off, Raph started to head towards the infirmary exit before hearing a strangled shout of indignation behind him. He turned, to see Leo holding an empty water cup, and a drenched Fizz. 

“You-! What was that- I didn’t even- Ugh!” The yokai was desperately trying to push his hair back onto his head, but it kept falling back over his eyes and curling up. “C’mon! Nooo…”

Leo was grinning like a madman, trying very hard not to fully burst out laughing. “Sorry, man, I tripped. Whoopsie-daisy.” He saw Raph shoot him a look, and clammed up, still smiling. Fizz gave up trying to fix his hair back to its original position, and stomped to the front of the group with his arms crossed.

“Exit is this way. Don’t fall behind.” His grumpy demeanor was such a sudden switch from the previously mellow and shifty fighter Raph had just spoken to. He and his family followed behind him to the entrance of the Battle Nexus, and his brothers raced off, chasing each other and laughing as they made their way back to the surface access. Fizz leaned against a pillar, and glared off at them.

Raph looked at him, transfixed. His hair when it was down was curlier, and fell a little over his eyes. It was kinda-

“Red one. Are you going to stand there, or can we leave?” Splinter's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife, and Raph jumped and nodded. 

“Sure thing, pops. See you ‘round, Fizz!”

Fizz’s face twitched briefly with what looked like a smile. “Catch you later, Raphael.”

“Dude, just call me Raph.”

“I’ll call you Raph when you beat me.”

“Deal.”


	5. Powercut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raph heads out for a day in the Hidden City!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay!! hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Raph stared at the message on his phone, poking at the bandage on his forehead.

_ Fizz: hey, if ur free today meet by the fountain in hc?  _

_ Fizz: tundra bailed on me so my days empty lol _

It had been about three days since he gave Zeph his contact details, but wasn’t really expecting a response. Raph hummed, tapping his fingers on his puzzle cube and staring at the ceiling of his room.

The quick rhythm of footsteps told him Mikey was coming before his younger brother even rounded the corner of his door.

“Raph!” Mikey skidded into the room and crashed into Raph’s bed, bouncing on his heels. “Leo totally found a bunch of trampolines and we’re gonna see if Donnie can launch himself to the big pipe in the huge tunnel room with them! You gotta come watch!”

Raph laughed at his brother's antics, but shook his head. “Sorry, Mike, I’m gonna head to the Hidden City today.” He faltered as he saw the frown Mikey was giving him.

“By yourself? Why would you…” Immediately Mikey’s face lit up. “Ohmigosh! Do you have a  _ date?!” _ Before Raph could react, Mikey had snatched his phone out of his hands and had his eyes pressed against the screen. “You- wait, is this that fish guy? Raph. Do better.”

“Mikey! It’s not a date, give me my phone back!” He snatched it back from Mikey’s hands, and glared at him. “He asked if I’d spar with him, and I said yes. Don’t tell Leo, he doesn’t like Fizz very much.”

Mikey rolled onto the bed, and rested his chin in his palms. “Already on a nickname basis? Very cute, Raphie-el.”

Raph rolled his eyes. “Everybody calls him Fizz, Mikey.” He stood up, pulling his bandana and hoodie over his head. “I’ll be back later. Save me some dinner, ‘kay?”

Mikey nodded as he joined Raph out the room. “Okie-dokie. And I won’t tell Leo. Because I’m the best little brother ever.” He poked Raph in the arm. “Say it. Say it, I DARE you.”

Raph shoved him away, laughing. “You know you’re all the best little brothers, and I’m not gonna pick favourites. Keep tryin’.”

Mikey shouted after him as Raph started heading towards the sewer exit. “I know that it’s me!”

-

Fizz sat on the edge of the fountain, dipping his fingertips into the water and swirling it around. The Hidden City was quiet today, with only a few people around to shoot him looks every now and again. He gave a quick glance around, and pulled a gold coin out of the water and slipped it into his pocket.

This was a  _ very  _ bad idea. He really shouldn’t be letting himself get close to anyone outside of the Battle Nexus, let alone a direct enemy of Big Mama. He wasn’t even sure why he’d asked Raphael to spar with him. It was a stupid idea. Stupid! What the hell was he doing here?

“Fizz!”

He yelped, nearly falling backwards into the water, but a hand caught his shoulder. Steadying himself, he looked up to see Raphael grinning down at him.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. You good?”

Fizz sighed, pushed the hand off him and stood up. “All good. Let’s go, yeah?” There wasn’t any backing out now, especially not with Raphael looking at him like that. 

The turtle beamed. “Yeah!” Fizz sighed, and however stupid this idea was, he was doing it anyway. A promise is a promise, and he wanted to see just how powerful this guy was when he didn’t hold back.

-

They’d been sparring for about an hour. Fizz had led him to a quiet warehouse near the docks, and opened the back door with a few strong kicks (“It sticks, but people think it’s locked, so it’s been empty for years,” Fizz had explained), and Raph quickly learned that Fizz was a lot stronger than he had expected. 

Not strong enough that Raph would go all out on him, though. And that fact annoyed Fizz to no end.

“Raphael, seriously!” Fizz exclaimed for the 6th time. “I know that punch was going to connect harder than that! You know it too!”

Raph frowned, “You don’t know that.” He saw a kick coming towards his head, and ducked back and brought his arms up. A second later a punch slammed into his forearms, and he grunted as he leant back slightly. He twisted sideways and swung his leg out, but hit empty air and realised Fizz had already moved. He felt a sudden dull impact into his other leg and toppled over, and felt a blow push his arms that were blocking his face away from his body. One arm was immediately pinned as Raph once again found himself with Fizz sat crouched on top of his plastron. 

“I think I do.” Raph watched as the yokais eyes shifted back from black to a dark red. “Let’s take a break, okay? I can only kick your ass so many times before it gets boring.” Fizz stood back up, helping Raph to his feet.

“If it helps you feel better, I’m not holding back on purpose,” Raph explained as they walked back over to the small pile of planks they had put their stuff on. “I honestly thought I was gonna win that time.”

Fizz jumped up onto the top of the pile, pulling his leg up to his chest. “You seriously did? I had you on the ropes, man. Even if that first punch had landed, I’d have still ended up beating you.” He took a long drink from his water bottle, and stared down at Raph as he leaned against the planks. “You only ever fight your brothers?”

Raph shook his head. “Nah, we fight villains up on the surface. Leo keeps calling us heroes, or whatever. I’m the team leader, and the oldest, so I usually take the bigger hits while my bros deal out the damage.” 

“Oh. Huh.” He paused. “Is that how you got the bandage on your… front shell thingy?”

“Plastron. And no, I got hit by a dump truck as a kid for that one.”

“Fucking hell.”

“Yeah. Still, I’m the strongest, so I protect the team. It makes sense, really.” Raph pulled out his own water bottle and took a sip, then noticed Fizz had gone quiet. “What’s up?”

Fizz glanced back down at him and shrugged. “Nothin’. I just get why your brother didn’t like me now.” When Raph just blinked at him, he sighed and carried on. “You’re their shield, and I can knock you down. That’s only cause you’re being a softie, though.”

“Hey!” The snapping turtle stood back up and crossed his arms. “Raph’s no softie!”

It was at this unfortunate moment that the power went out. 

“W- Fizz?! What happened?”

“The powers gone, Raphael. Stay there, I’m gonna see if I can fix it.”

Raph stood as still as he could as he heard Fizz jump down from the planks and walked off in the direction of the door. 

_ He’s not leaving us, is he? _

“Not now, Mind Raph...” he whimpered.

_ He’s leaving. He’s totally leaving. Raph, focus, there could be anyone in here.  _

Raph slowly adjusted his eyes to the dim light, as the only light source in the warehouse was now the small sliver of lamplight coming in through the windows high up on the wall. 

_ Focus focus focus. There could be enemies. Meat Sweats. Those crab guys. Focus. Focus. Focus. _

“Just shut up!”

“Raphael? Are you okay?” Fizz’s voice cut through the darkness. In the next second, two glowing golden points pierced through the gloom from the other end of the warehouse. Raph let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m fine. Just… get the lights back on.”

_ Focus. Focus. Focus.  _

“I’m almost done with the lights. You sure you’re alright?” 

“I’m fine. I’m just… focusing.” Deep breaths, Raphael. In, and out.

“You got it. Ah, there.” A click resonated throughout the room, and the lights flickered back on. Raph glanced over as Fizz walked back towards him, paused, then walked right up next to him and pulled Raphs claws away from his arms. He hadn’t even noticed, but he’d been gripping into them like his life depended on it.

“Dude, don’t do that.” Fizz tugged Raph gently over back to the planks and sat him down, looking him in the eyes. They were still golden, and hadn’t shifted back. “Raphael. We don’t have to do any more fighting today if you don’t feel like it.”

“I’m fine. But, uh… I think I wanna go home, now.” He noticed Fizz moving backwards slightly, pulling his hands away from where they’d been touching his own.

“...Right. Sorry.” Before Raph could respond, Fizz had stood up and started putting things back into his bag. “Do you still want to meet up again? I’m still trying to figure you out.”

Raph wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, but if ‘figuring out’ included meeting Fizz more, then he was totally fine with that.

“Yeah, for sure! I’ll definitely win next time, count on it!” Raph grinned. Fizz just stared at him for a few seconds before shooting a smile back.

“Yeah, right. If you’re so sure, then the loser has to buy the winner a pizza.”

“You’re on!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gasp......, A Hand Touch..............


	6. Oh no. It’s a Thing.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys talk to their family about... THIS whole situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no beta reader we die like men
> 
> anyway i was too excited to post this chapter i enjoyed writing it a lot HAVE FUN

Fizz sank onto his bed with a groan. He’d totally messed that one up.

He’d returned home as soon as he was sure Raphael had made it to the surface safely, then immediately regretted every single word he’d said. He’d stayed in his room the whole day and night, his thoughts swirling through his skull.

“Oh my god. Oh, my god, I’m so stupid. Oh my god.” He rolled onto his front, and shoved his face into his pillow.

“I’m not gonna deny it, but you probably shouldn’t say it out loud to an empty room, Zeph.” He pulled his head up to see Tundra leaning against his door frame. “Pretty sure that’s the first sign of madness.”

“Go away.” He rolled over to face the wall, clutching the pillow to his chest like a lifeline. He felt Tundra sit next to him and place a paw on his arm.

“I know you don’t like to… talk about your feelings, or whatever. But y’know you’re the same as the rest of us. You can only keep that shit bottled up for so long, right?”

Fizz carried on ignoring her. There was silence for a few more seconds.

“...So, what, he’s not a good kisser or something?”

He bolted up and kicked Tundra off the bed. “We didn’t _kiss!_ It wasn’t a date! What the hell, Tundra?! I don’t even like him like that!” He shoved the pillow back over his face to cover the rising blush on his cheeks.

From the floor, Tundra burst out laughing. “Knew that would get you up! C’mon, what happened, man? You were just supposed to spar, not even you can mess that up.”

“Ugh. I’m not good at talking to people. I totally freaked him out.” Fizz lay back down, staring at the ceiling. “I touched his hands and I think I made him uncomfortable.” When no response came, he looked back at Tundra to see her staring into space. “Tundra, come on. If I’m gonna actually tell you about this then at least pay attention.”

“I totally am paying attention. Just thinking about that mess of a sentence.” Tundra looked back at him. “What was happening before that?”

“He was freaking out because the lights went off. I turned them back on, and made him sit down, but he said he wanted to go home.”

Tundra stared at him. “Dude, that’s normal. If you were in a new place and started freaking out, wouldn’t you wanna go home too?”

Fizz didn’t respond. The witch shuffled back onto the bed, and poked him in the arm.

“You touched his hands?” 

“Held them. Pulled him over to sit down. Kept holding them.” He pressed his face further into the pillow and let out a muffled grumble. “Stupid.”

“Uh-huh.” 

“ZEPH. IF YOU WISH TO BE SMOTHERED YOU JUST HAVE TO ASK.”

Fizz groaned, and tossed the pillow to the other end of the bed. “No, Moi, I don't. Go away.”

The yokai shuffled into the room, blanket wrapped tight around their body. “ARE YOU HIDING YOUR EMOTIONS AGAIN?”

“Yes. No. No emotions to hide. Shut up.” He winced as Moi’s pupil shrank down to a pinprick, and they stared him directly in the eyes. “Okay, fine. I feel like Raphael doesn’t like me.”

“HA-HA. I WILL ASSUME THAT WAS A JOKE.” Moi jumped up on the bed with the other two, and sat criss-cross. “I SAW THE MATCH REPLAYS.”

Fizz pulled his head upwards. “What about the match replays?”

Tundra laughed. “The dude looked so stunned when you tackled him I thought he had a concussion. He was all like, _whoaaaaaa~_ !” She slung her arm around Fizz’s shoulders. “He totally likes you, dude. _Likes you,_ likes you. That’s why I thought you asked him on a date.” 

“Oh.” Fizz stared at his hands. “Oh, no.”

-

Oh god, this was a problem.

Raph had been pacing his room for hours. He kept looking at his hands, then sitting down, looking at his hands again. 

_He held your hands._

No. Nope. Not going down that track.

He stood back up and started shuffling through his music records, and pulled one from the box and started playing it. 

“Raph. What are you doing?”

Raph glanced over to his door to see Donnie, standing there with his favourite purple hoodie on, and a folded red… something.

“Playing... music. It’s a normal, non-weird thing to do!” He argued. When Donnie just raised an eyebrow, he frowned. “Whatever. Stop looking at me.”

“You only ever listen to this track when you’re in emotional turmoil, but I didn’t come here to remark on your music taste. I got you something.” Donnie walked into the room and handed Raph the red cloth. “It’s a matching hoodie. You mentioned that sensory stuff is harder because you can’t find hoodies like mine, so I made it for you. It should fit you 100%, I made sure the back was modified accurately to your shell. Ideally, I’d have reinforced it too to make sure it wouldn’t rip, but… are you crying?”

“N-no.” He quickly scrubbed his face to get rid of any evidence, and started pulling the hoodie on. “This is amazing, Dee. Thanks.”

“No probbles.” Donnie sat down and started poking at Raph’s leg. “Now is that enough bribery for you to tell me why you’ve been stressed for a whole day, or am I going to have to test my truth machine on you again?”

Raph sighed, and reluctantly sat opposite his younger brother. “How do you know if you like a guy?”

Donnie froze. “That was not what I was expecting. Do you know how rare that is for me?” He thrust his arms into the air. “SO rare, Raph! So very rare!”

Raph laughed, then his face fell again. “Seriously, Don. I don’t know what to do.”

Donnie returned to a regular position, and tapped his fingers on the floor. “Well, typically I would work out why I like them and start from there. Why do you like this… hypothetical ‘guy’, as you put it.”

“Well… he’s strong. He’s really cool. He’s surprisingly easily spooked, but only if you sneak up on him. He fixed my bandana as an apology, even though he didn’t have to.” Raph stared back down at the floor. “He held my hands yesterday to calm me down, and I can’t stop thinkin’ about it.”

“Hm.” Donnie crossed his arms. “Sounds decent enough. Tell him you’re interested. Simple.”

Raph groaned, and put his head in his hands. “I don’t work like that, Don! We spar! He’s a cool Battle Nexus fighter! I’m some dude who got his ass kicked and then he felt sorry for me!”

“Did the same Battle Nexus fighter not also get a cup of water dunked on his head and proceed to sulk about it for the next 20 minutes?” Donnie prompted, grinning. Raph smiled nervously.

“You’re not mad I like him, then?”

“What? No. Leo’s got a weird grudge, sure, but the fish dude seems fine.” Donnie frowned. “Even if he is, you know. A fish.”

“Dee, we’re turtles.”

“Better than fish, though.”

-

“But I don’t like him like that! What the hell am I doing?! I just like sparring with him! I want to get to know him better, have I been leading him on this whole time?! Oh _God,”_ Fizz paced his bedroom, waving his arms wildly. “I don’t think I like him that way? What does that even feel like?!” He spun towards Tundra and grabbed her shoulders. “Tundra, what does that feel like? What the fuck do I do?!”

Tundra pulled Fizz’s hands away. “Zeph, you’ve been asking me this for 20 minutes. I really don’t know why you’d think I’d have a better idea of love than you.”

Love? Oh, shit, it’s love. No, no no no. Raph was the one with emotions here. Not him. Never him. He couldn’t. No way.

Fizz let out a yell and tossed himself face-first onto his bed. _“Fuck!”_

“ZEPH, MAYBE JUST CALM DOWN.” Moi barely looked up from their game console.

“Moi, I can’t calm down. How the fuck does romance even work?” Fizz rolled over, glaring at them. “You’re the oldest, so come on. Help me.”

“I HAVE NO IDEA HOW ROMANCE WORKS. JUST ASK HIM OUT FOR PIZZA OR SOMETHING.”

“I’ve already done that.” Fizz blinked. Tundra and Moi both stopped and stared at him.

“You’ve already asked him out?” Tundra asked, quizzically. 

“Well, yeah. I wanted another reason to hang out with him after sparring.” Tundra didn’t respond. “Tundra?”

“AND YOU THINK YOU DO NOT LIKE HIM.” Moi’s voice somehow sounded scratchier than normal.

“Well, ‘don’t like him’ sounds a bit harsh.” 

Tundra stretched her arms and leaned backwards a little. “I think you’re overthinking this. Just hang out with him, and see what happens.”

Fizz sighed. “Fine. Whatever. I’m gonna go get something to eat.” He stood up, making his way to the door. “This never happened.”

“Sure thing.” Tundra watched as the fish yokai left the room, then leaned over to Moi. “Did you see that blush?”

“YES. HE’S A DUMBASS.”

“Absolutely.”

-

_Raphael: hey we should meet up tomorrow if youre free!!_

_Fizz: sounds good_

_Fizz: bring money for pizza_

_Raphael: hey i might win_

_Fizz: yea ok :/_

_Raphael: :(_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah this is where the unrequited (?) part comes into it. Sorry


	7. Invitations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fizz gets to know Raph a little more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (spiderman voice) pizza time

This was a terrible idea. 

Raph had thought that going to get pizza with Fizz would be the perfect place to actually relax enough to talk normally. He was wrong.

_ We were both wrong, Raph. _

“Raphael? Are you that bummed about losing to me again?”

He snapped his head back up. “Ah, uh. No. Sorry? What were you saying?” Raph pulled another slice of pizza out the box and bit into it, avoiding eye contact.

“I just wanted to know if you’re free next week.” Fizz took a slice himself and waved it vaguely. “I’ve got a solo match in the Battle Nexus. If you didn’t wanna come and watch, I’d understand, but…” 

“No, I wanna come!” Raph blurted out. “Will it be okay? You know Big Mama doesn’t exactly… like me.” Certainly getting her fighter arrested didn’t exactly put Raph in her good graces. 

“I’ll work something out. I’m probably going to lose this fight anyway, so it’ll be worth you getting a good example on how to take me down.” Fizz shrugged, then caught sight of the worried look on Raph’s face. “What?”

“Why are you so sure you’ll lose?” The general bustle of the restaurant seemed to fade, and everything felt colder. “Are you planning something?”

“No! Listen, it… ugh.” Fizz dropped his head down. “This is kinda my punishment for not finding a suitable fighter for Big Mama. I’m a team fighter, not a solo one, but she needed someone quick because I pissed off Heinous Green.” 

Raph stared at him. “Heinous Green? Big guy? Likes to grow to freaky sizes and beat up turtles way smaller than him?” 

“You  _ know _ him?!” 

“I kinda got him arrested.”

“Oh. Wow.” Fizz leaned back in his chair. “I humiliated him in front of the whole Battle Nexus, so I guess we’re even.”

Raph laughed, “How did you even do that?”

“Blinded him during the fight with one of Tundra’s potions, kicked him around til he grew so much he knocked himself out.” A small smile grew across Fizz’s face. “He went to Big Mama’s office after that to resign. Haven’t seen him since, thankfully, or I’d be a red smear on the floor of the Battle Nexus.”

Raph stared at him, enraptured. “Wow. That’s awesome!”

Fizz glanced at him, then shook his head, averting his eyes. “Not as cool as getting him arrested. How did you even manage that?”

“Oh, well. It was a very weird day. Got arrested, accidentally became a gang leader, saw Big Mama, almost got killed…” Raph counted off the points on his fingers. “Fought Heinous Green, handed him over to the police.” He ran out of fingers to count on. “Got arrested again. Broke out of jail with a cake.” 

“Whoa. Back up. You fought Heinous Green and won?!” Fizz leant forward on the table, eyes wide. “How the fuck did you beat him?”

“Oh, well, my tonfas are mystical magic weapons…”

-

Hueso eventually kicked them out after spending 4 hours talking over a single pizza. Not exactly feeling like going back to the Hidden City, Raphael had suggested Fizz come to visit his lair. He had agreed, not realising his mistake until they arrived at a sewer drain and Raphael had handed him his bandana.

“We can’t really trust people to keep the lair a secret. So, uh, I’m gonna have to ask you to trust me here.” Fizz just stared at him, surprised. “Sorry.”

“No, that makes sense.” Fizz took the cloth and wrapped it around his eyes, trying to decide whether he actually wanted to be able to peek or not. “Yokai living on the surface usually have extensive safety measures.” He gave a thumbs-up when the bandana was secure, hoping he was facing the right direction, then felt himself lifted up abruptly. Oh shit.

“Actually, we’re not yokai. We’re mutants, and didn’t even know about the Hidden City ‘til, like, a year ago.”

“O-oh. Uh-huh.” Fizz wasn’t really paying attention. He hadn’t really thought through what being led would entail until it was already happening, and was now dealing with the fact that he had been picked up, was right next to Raphael’s chest, and his arms were very big and he was being held in them  _ oh god oh my god _ .

This is a normal friend thing. It’s a safety measure so where he lives stays a secret. This is fine.

“Our pops is a mutant rat, and we have a little sister named Piebald who’s a mutant fish. Then there’s April, our human friend on the surface.” There was silence for a second. “Are you okay? Was I talking too much?”

“You’re fine. It’s fine! I’m all good.” Fizz scrambled for an excuse. “The blindfold is making me panic a little, that’s all.” It wasn’t even technically a lie. Him and blindfolds didn’t have the best track record.

“Oh, I get that! Sorry, won’t be much further, I promise. I’ll make you a coffee when we get there.” 

Okay, so Raphael was nice. He was very strong. And he was currently carrying him. That doesn’t mean anything! This is a precautionary measure. Why did he have to hold him so fucking gently?! Shit! 

“Okay, we’re here!” Fizz felt himself being set down carefully on his feet, and he quickly pulled away the bandana and handed it back.

“Good. This better have been- oh, wow.” 

The lair ceiling stretched high above him, with several layers of platforms that had been draped with colourful fairy lights and paper lanterns. One of the tunnels he could see had a purple glow emanating from it, and Fizz could hear muffled clanking sounds from within.

“That’s Donnie’s lab! He’s busy right now, so I don’t think he’ll come out to say hi.” 

“Was that the tech one, or the one who doesn’t like me?” He saw Raph grimace.

“Donnie’s the tech one. Leo is the one who… has his own issues.”

“ _ Raph. _ ”

Fizz spun around, and saw the blue-masked brother staring him directly in the face with a scowl.

“Dude, what is he doing here? You said I couldn’t even bring my boyfriend back here because,” Leo made a face, “‘we have to keep the lair a secret!’ Why does the rule change for you and fish-for-brains?!”

“I didn’t let him see where the lair was, Leo! It’s a whole different story!”

“Dude, I can just portal him!”

They glared at each other for a few more seconds. Okay. So now this is a situation. Bring up the air of not caring, and…

“Well, as fun as this is,” Fizz shoved his hands into his pockets and gave them both a deadpan look, “Can we speed this argument along so I can hang out with my friend?”

Leo rounded on him. Okay, provoking him was a mistake.

“Don’t think you’re getting off that easy. You are not to be trusted in the lair!” The teen jabbed a finger into his chest. “You work for Big Mama. You’re not safe to be around!”

Okay, he had a point. Fizz hadn’t had any friends for years for that specific reason. Damnit. 

“If it makes you feel better, you can fight me first.” Fizz shrugged. “If you can beat me, I’ll leave.”

“No way. I want to see if I can take you down if I have to.”

Raphael stepped forward and picked both of them up in one hand each. “Okay, enough! Nobody is fighting each other, okay? Behave and get along, just for one day, so I can have a nice time with my buddy!” Raph glared at Leo, who glared back for a second, then crossed his arms and looked away.

“Fine. If he kills you, I’m not coming to your funeral.” He started slapping at Raph’s hand. “Now put me down! Mikey challenged me to another game of air hockey and he’s gonna regret it so bad.”

“Fine.” Fizz blinked at the sudden change in attitude, but Raphael set both of them back down, and watched as Leo scrambled up the skate ramp to the games room. Raph turned to him, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s all good. Now, c’mon,” he grabbed Raph’s arm and started pulling him along to what looked like the kitchen, “you mentioned coffee?”

-

**the cooler brothers**

**Sent at 14:38**

_ dontron: was that leo yelling  _

_ mikecraft: yeah raph totally brought fizz here lmaaaoooo _

_ dontron: oh my god.  _

_ mikecraft: leos so pissed and i keep beating him at air hockey bc he keeps jumping at everything _

_ dontron: oh boy is it that bad _

_ mikecraft: yeah i think leos got issues _

_ dontron: mikey i think we all have issues _

_ leochamp: DID U GUYS FORGET IM IN THIS CHAT TOO _

_ mikecraft: no _

_ dontron: no _

-

“So run that by me again. He’s a pig…”

“Mutant. Pig mutant.”

“Right. And his arms are like tentacles or whatever?”

“More like… y’know cheese strings?”

“Oh, yeah. Ew.”

Laughter filled the kitchen again. Raph had been talking to Fizz for about an hour about the various mutant villains they fight on a weekly basis, and Raph had been enjoying every second of it. Fizz actually laughing was a rare sight, but a nice one.

“He can absorb other mutants' powers. It’s super gross.” Raph sat back on the chair and took another sip of his coffee. “He was a professional chef, so he’s always talking about food and stuff. He talked about eating us once, I think? I wasn’t really focused at the time.”

“Dude, gross!” Fizz chuckled, fiddling with the handle of his own coffee mug. “What about that Ghostbear guy?”

Raph’s face lit up. “Ghostbear! You mean the best wrestler ever? Sure, he’s technically a villain, but even his new villain powers are cool!”

“Yeah? I’m surprised you're this enthusiastic even when he’s tried to kill you. I dunno if I could do that.”

Raph shrugged. “I’ve loved wrestling since I was a kid. It’s kinda hard to let go of that fixation, y’know?”

“I get that.” Fizz finished the rest of his coffee, and checked his phone. “Shit, I gotta head out. Tundra will murder me if I don’t get back soon.”

“Oh, right!” Panicking, Raph stood up. “Sorry, guess I talked too much, huh?”

“No.” Fizz fixed him with a steady look. “It was nice.”

“Oh.” God, he hoped he wasn’t blushing right now. “That’s good. Um.” Oh, crap. “I, uh, have to carry you back to the sewer entrance. Y’know. Precautions.” 

Fizz paused, then nodded. “Right.” He stood up, and sidled next to Raph. “Bandana, please.”

Raph obliged, and Fizz tied the bandana around his eyes, posture shifting immediately into a more defensive stance. Raph felt extremely bad for having to put Fizz through that again, but picked him up as carefully as he could. 

“Okay, let’s go!”

“Sounds good, big guy.”

-

The journey back was shorter, and as soon as they arrived back at the ladder to the exit, Fizz jumped out of Raph’s arms without a second thought, pulling the bandana down and looking around frantically.

“Okay, I officially can’t stand doing that again.” Raph watched as the fish yokai took a few deep, controlled breaths. “I’m heading home. Thanks for inviting me over, though.”

“Hey, no problem!” Raph smiled at him, then pulled him into a quick hug. “Thanks for coming!”

Fizz was still for a second, then Raph felt an arm reach hesitantly around his torso and give him a pat on the back.

“Yeah, sure. Um. I’m not much of a hugger…” 

“Oh!” Raph stepped backwards. “Sorry!”

“It’s fine. You… you’re allowed.” Fizz didn’t look him in the eyes. “...Well. Bye.” In a second he was scrambling up the ladder towards the surface. Raph watched him remove the sewer cover, and give him a quick wave before he closed it over again.

_ That could have gone worse. _

“Yeah, definitely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get Held Tenderly In Someones Arms And Maybe You’ll Calm Down
> 
> alternatively, has anyone watched the ducktales ‘17 episode ‘JAW$’?


	8. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week passes. The 1v1 draws closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THATS RIGHT ITS TWO CHAPTERS AT ONCE
> 
> i tried doing a little small one in between last chapter and the next to add some breathing room before. stuff happens. 
> 
> ENJOY

**Tuesday. 5 days until 1v1**

_ Fizz: raphael did i leave my phone there _

_ Fizz: fuckin _

_ Fizz: please ignore that _

_ Raph: its ok! i think u accidentally took my bandana though _

_ Fizz: oh whoops _

_ Fizz: u wanna meet up today? so i can give it back _

_ Raph: sure!! see u in a bit _

  
  


**Wednesday. 4 days until 1v1**

“It’s not like I can just cancel the match, Raphael.” Fizz wrapped the bandage around his fist, then tied it off. Raph watched him, frowning.

“Yeah, but it still seems unfair.” He leaned back, staring at the little bit of light coming in through the high-up windows of the warehouse.

Fizz scoffed. “Have you met Big Mama? Being unfair is her whole deal.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Raph shrugged.

“Whatever. I’m still gonna try to win.” He caught sight of Raphael staring worriedly at his hands. “What?”

“How… How long exactly is the match going to be? I don’t like being alone.” The slight tremor in his voice told Fizz that this wasn’t the type of alone that could be fixed by being around strangers.

“Oh, shouldn’t be too long. Depends on how, uh… brutal my competition is going to be.” He laughed a little. “Or how weak. But I promise, I’ll make sure Tundra and Moi meet you beforehand so you won’t be stood in the stands by yourself.”

Raph turned his head towards him, and offered a small smile. “Thanks, Fizz.”

“No worries. I’ve got your back, man.”

  
  


**Thursday. 3 days until 1v1**

_ Leo: hey  _

_ Fizz: who is this _

_ Leo: its leo _

_ Fizz: why tf are you texting me i thought u hated me _

_ Leo: i do but also raph told me ur doing a 1v1 battle nexus fight and im technically a battle nexus champion so i wanted to wish you good luck so i stole ur number from his phone  _

_ Fizz: oh thanks _

_ Leo: also i hope you get smushed by kracken tom _

_ Fizz: oh _

_ Fizz: fair  _

  
  


**Friday. 2 days until 1v1**

“Donnie, for the last time, I’m fine.” Raph glared at his younger brother from where he sat next to the Shell Hogs. Donnie glared back at him

“Are you sure, though? I haven’t seen you look this sad about your plans being cancelled since that teddy bear store shut down.” He turned away and started pulling the larger toolbox down from the shelf. “What’s he doing, anyway?”

“He has a meeting with Big Mama, so what was I gonna do? Tell him he should ditch? No way.” Raph shrugged. “Besides, it’s a briefing about the match. Kind of important.”

Donnie glanced up at him as he put the toolbox on the garage table. “Well, did he say he’d meet you tomorrow or what?”

Raph nodded. “He said he’d message me if he was free tomorrow, yeah.”

“Good.” Donnie tossed one of the screwdrivers towards him, which Raph barely caught. “Now stop sulking and help me fix the bikes.”

“Jeez, fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time: a meeting!


	9. Webs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fizz has a meeting with Big Mama. Raph gets a text.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> been looking forward to posting this one!!

The office was quiet, with only two guards stationed next to the desk, and Fizz knew that was usually a good sign. If the office was busy, filled with noise and bellboys, that was when you had to be on your guard.

He gestured to Tundra and Moi behind him, and they walked up to the desk where Big Mama was sitting waiting in her disguised human form. 

“Hey, Big Mama. What are the fight details, then?” Fizz tapped on the desk. “You legally have to tell me at least two days before the fight.”

The spider laughed, a chilling, high pitched giggle that always made Fizz uneasy. “You and I both know I’m not strictly a fan of all the legal flim-flam, Fizzy!” She leaned forward, tapping her nails on the desk. “I shall inform you of the fighter, of course. But first, a little gossiping!”

Fizz blinked. “Gossip?”

“Certainly! Do indulge your dear boss, won’t you? I’ve heard you have been spending quite a bit of time with my dear turtley-boo!” Fizz paled as Big Mama stood from her chair and turned away. “This isn’t a concern, but I am rather curious as to what you’ve been up to, Mister Sharkbait.”

“We’re just sparring, Big Mama.” Fizz desperately looked for a better reason. Damnit, why did she have to find out?! “I was curious as to why he wasn’t a good enough fighter, so I was trying to train him. You know how it is!” He forced a quick laugh, but clammed up as Big Mama sent an icy glare his way.

“Training him? Oh, Fizzy! You shouldn’t have! How sweet of you!” He stared as she rounded the desk, put a hand on his shoulder and steered him away to the window. “And what have you learned about his fighting during this little escapade of yours, hm?”

Fizz couldn’t stand it when she did this. He knew he had to answer. He shoved his hands into his pockets and tried to ignore the betrayal he was about to commit. “He… doesn’t like fighting other people he likes. Being alone freaks him out. He’s too soft for the Battle Nexus.” He turned, using all his courage to look Big Mama dead in the eyes. “So leave him alone.”

“Oh, dear-deary me! You seem to have forgotten one eensy little thing, Fizzy-Wizz!” Her eyes shifted back to the desk, and he followed them to see Tundra and Moi both restrained, unconscious and being pulled to lie the door by one of the guards. 

“Guys?!” He started towards them, but felt a hand grab his wrist and sharp nails dig into his skin. He snapped his head back towards Big Mama, then yelled as the other guard in the room grabbed his other arm. “What are you doing?! We had a deal!”

“That we did! I am simply making sure both sides are fulfilled!” Big Mama smiled at him and stepped back as the other guard returned and restrained the arm she had been gripping. “Thank you for this, by the way.” She held up Fizz’s phone. When did she get that?! “I’ll just be arranging to meet my new fighter, if you don’t mind. Boys, if you would escort our dear champ to his quarters?” The two bellboys nodded, and started to drag Fizz backwards towards the elevator.

“Wait! What about my team? Why the hell do you need them?” Fizz yelled desperately. “They didn’t do anything wrong!” 

“Oh, hushy-hush. They’ll be perfectly alright. They aren’t needed here, so I’ll be sending them back to your little hideaway and putting them on house arrest.” Big Mama stepped back towards her chair, and settled into it. “Be a dear and stop making such a fuss, now, would you?”

Fizz struggled against the bellboys, but to no avail, and let out one last frustrated yell as the elevator doors slid shut.

-

_ Fizz: hey meetings over lets meet up!! _

_ Fizz: meet me at the battle nexus?  _

_ Raph: sure! everything go okay? _

_ Fizz: perfectly _

-

Raph stared up at the imposing shadow of the Battle Nexus, then back down at his phone. No new messages.

_ He’s probably inside.  _

“Yeah… Wish he’d waited out here, though.” He started walking through the tall doorways, heading towards the prep room he’d met Fizz and his team the first time he fought here.

_ Still totally creepy. _

“Yeah, that hasn’t changed.” Raph peered into one of the doors, but only saw a darkened room filled with weights. “Where do you suppose he is?”

_ Knowing him? Challenged someone else to a fight. _

“He does do that a lot.” Raph laughed a little.

“Whoever are you talking to, snappy-bee?”

Raph yelped and spun around. Big Mama was standing directly behind him, again. 

_ Why does that always happen here?! _

“B-Big Mama! Um. Hi. Have you seen Fizz? I’m just meeting him here, I’m going to leave straight away.” He looked behind her. “Is he with you?”

“Ooh, dear, you  _ just  _ missed him. He told me he was heading to preppy room 8! You know him, always so diligent.” The spider yokai giggled. Raph squinted at her.

“Right. Well. I’ll be going.” He edged his way around her, and backed down the corridor, not looking away from her. She simply kept smiling.

_ Spiders are creepy. Leo totally had a point that time.  _

“Shut it, Mind Raph.” He muttered, not taking his eyes off the villain as he rounded the corner.

Out of sight, Big Mama’s smile grew wider, and she started to follow.

-

Fizz wasn’t trying to break out at this point. He’d already checked over the small room, and concluded there was nothing useful that could be used to somehow wedge open the massive fuckoff steel door that stood between him and freedom.

God, this sucked.

He half-heartedly threw one of the stupid teacups Big Mama had left him at the door, watched it bounce off (there must be a magic ward. Of course.) and smash onto the floor. He laughed weakly.

“Boo. Get better entertainment.” He muttered to the empty room. He glanced up at the file he’d been left about his opponent, still lying on the table where he’d left it. 

“I mean, really.” Fizz sighed, and picked it up again. “Do they actually think Raphael’s going to fight me? Not gonna be a very interesting fight for the audience.”

-

Raph had gotten lost. Of course he had.

This building had too many corridors! It’s not his fault. No way. 

_ Check the time. How long has Fizz been waiting? _

His phone is gone. How is Raph’s phone gone? Did he drop it?

_ How could you lose it?! _

Whatever. Keep moving. Big Mama said room 8.

_ Why are we trusting her? _

Prep Room 8. Right there on the sign. 

_ Great. Go get Fizz and let’s just get out. Forget the phone. _

The door swung open easily, and Raph stumbled inside. The room was quiet, relatively spacious and filled with lockers and benches. He stepped further in, peering around the lockers to find Fizz.

_ Why is it empty? _

The slam of the door behind him echoed throughout the room.

_ Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. _

Did you really just let us get caught again?!

_ Me?! That was you! _

Raph growled, then stomped towards the door and tried the handle. A sudden zap sent him reeling backwards, shaking his hand. 

“Ow! What…” He glared at the door, and tried again. “Ow! Shit!”

_ “Attention all participants of the Battle Nexus! Tomorrow’s fights begin in 12 hours! See you all tomorrow!”  _ The mechanical twinge to Big Mama’s voice came shrieking towards Raph’s ears, and he let out a whimper.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine, just breathe. Just keep breathing.” He slumped against the stone wall, and put his head in his hands. “This isn’t real. It’s a nightmare. You’re not… you’re…” Raph tried desperately not to start crying. 

_ We’re not alone. We’re not. We’re fine.  _

“Alone…” He wrapped his arms around himself tightly, rocking back and forth. “We’re alone.”

_ Stay calm. We can’t lose it, we have to focus. _

“We’re alone…” 

_ Oh, shit. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh oh oh no oh shit


	10. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo takes the lead, and Fizz is made painfully aware of his own mistakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so! this next arc is obvs going to be a bit angsty, but I do want to mention I'm not usually a fan of angst. I know the battle nexus often gets used as an angst factor in other fics, so I’m gonna try and keep this mini-arc pretty short and only for development of the relationship between Fizz and Raph!
> 
> Another thing, I’m a little worried about the pacing in these last few chapters, so if you have any constructive criticism for me I’d love to hear it in the comments!
> 
> With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!

Leo sighed, tapping at his phone. He and Donnie sat in front of the TV, Mikey was in the kitchen cooking up who-knows-what. The lair had been quiet all day, after Raph had rushed off to meet Fizz, looking excited. Apparently he hadn’t been expecting to meet up today, so he was looking forward to seeing this new friend of his for… whatever it was they did.

Ugh.  _ Fizz.  _

To his own surprise, Leo had found he didn’t actually hate him. The guy was a dick, sure, but he did seem to like Raph. The offer to fight him had been fun, too, even though Leo knows he would have won.

He checked the time. 5:48am. Raph left at 10:30pm. So… 

Leo frowned. “Hey, Don?” His brother looked up from his phone, slouched on the beanbag opposite him. 

“What?” Donnie shot him a glare. “I’m working on something.”

“Doesn’t Raph usually text us when he’s heading back?” Leo asked. Donnie nodded.

“Yeah, but I haven’t gotten any messages yet.” He raised his voice. “Mikey?”

“What?!” The distant yell from the kitchen responded.

“Has Raph texted you?”

“Uhhh…” A few clang sounds rang out, probably pans being put down. “No!”

The middle brothers exchanged glances. Leo picked his phone up and dialled Raph’s number.

It rang for a few seconds, and then stopped. Donnie glanced at the phone, then back at Leo.

“Did he answer?” He asked, but Leo shook his head, and showed Donnie the screen. He looked at it, then back up at his brother's suddenly serious face. “Wait, he declined the call?”

“Raph never declines a call. He’s all like ‘Blah, blah, you never know when it could be important’, even when it’s a spam caller from Jersey.” He put his phone back into his pouch, Donnie already tapping into his wrist communicator. Leo stood up from the chair, adjusting his gear. “I’m gonna go tell Dad we’re heading out. You get Mikey. We’ve gotta find Raph.”

-

“Is the costume really necessary? I’m sure me kicking the shit out of my friend again is going to be entertaining enough for your sick audience without being dressed up like this.” Fizz stood with his arms out, being measured by one of the assistants. Big Mama nodded at him, smiling widely.

“Certainly! If you’re going to put on a show for us, you need to look the part!” Fizz glared at her, and kicked his leg out. 

“And this?” He jangled the mystic magic shackle that had been attached to his ankle, and was secured to the wall. Big Mama’s expression didn’t change.

“You know why that’s there, Fizzy.”

He sighed, and looked back out the window at the arena. It was nearly 7am, and he’d been woken early for… whatever this was. Some kind of humiliation? The outfit that was being altered for him was a strange, medieval knight-inspired suit with red and silver sparkles all over it. It was horribly gaudy, and Fizz wouldn’t have worn it on purpose in a million lifetimes. Way too bright.

“Can’t I just wear my usual clothes? I’m sure I’d fight better in those. Or are you not looking for that?” To no surprise, Big Mama ignored him. 

“The match starts in one hour. You have until then to prepare.” She turned and started to walk to the door. He glared after her, and took a deep breath inward.

“You know he’s not going to fight me, right?”

She stopped.

“Raphael’s too much of a softie. This is going to be the most boring match you’ve put on here in years. He hasn’t won against me once, and I’m going to knock him out so quickly the match will hardly even start.” He hesitated as the spider yokai turned back around to face him. This is definitely pushing the truth a bit, but if it makes her let Raphael go, it’s worth it. “Your stupid sales are gonna drop. You should have gotten Heinous Green back here to beat me senseless. I know you could get him out of jail whenever you wanted.”

Big Mama’s face was like stone as she started to walk back towards him.

“You never win a deal with me, Zephie.” He shuddered, taking a step of his own backwards, and the assistant measuring his arms decided now was a good time to leave, hurrying away and out the door. “You knew that when you deliberately brought back a fighter you thought was too soft, and you knew that when you agreed to do this little one-on-one battle.” She walked around him to the window, and looked over the arena. “What you didn’t know in that tricksy little brain of yours was that I  _ know  _ these turtles, while you clearly do not. From what I’ve observed of the snappy one, he seems to have difficulty controlling his strength when stressed, and nothing stresses him out more than… Well. You told me yourself!” 

“Being alone.” Fizz muttered. Shit.

“Precisely! From what I’ve observed on the cameras, he’s been getting quite… smashy.” The yokai turned back to him, smiling. “Well, I won’t keep you. We need to get your splendiferous costume finished, after all!” She walked past him, touching a hand to his shoulder briefly. “Do try not to perish. I still have use for you and your team. I may just take up your offer to bring Heinous Green back!” 

Big Mama left the room, and left Fizz shaking with fury. He took a deep breath, swinging his arms to try and remove the urge to punch something. The costume assistant re-entered the room nervously, and glanced towards him. 

“Come on, get this over with.” Fizz glared at them, and they walked back over to continue fitting the suit. “The sooner I beat Raphael and get him outta here, the better.”

-

The room was dark. The lights had gone off at some point in the night. Raph wasn’t sure what to do.

Red didn’t know how to help.

He knew he was alone, that he wasn’t supposed to be here, and that he was in a terrifying amount of danger.

The voice of Raph and the other one were gone. That didn’t matter, though. He pressed his hands over his eyes, trying to focus, or think of a way out of this.

Red knew one thing, and that was that he had to protect himself. Currently, the best way to do that was barricade himself into a corner of the room, with his back to the wall.

He could hear the noise of many people shouting on the outside of the long shutters at the other end of the room, and knew that was where the danger was.

He knew that when they opened, he would have to make a break for it. 

-

Leo ducked back behind the alleyway, away from the police that had been a little too close to where he was for comfort. He turned to Donnie and Mikey, who were a little further in, and gestured them forwards.

“Anyone find anything?” Donnie shook his head, but Mikey nodded.

“I was in the market by the docks, and apparently there’s meant to be a big fight at the Battle Nexus today. They didn’t mention any names, though.” His younger brother sighed. “It could be Raph, but I don’t know why he’d be fighting in the Battle Nexus again.”

“He wouldn’t be. Not on purpose.” Leo furrowed his brows, thinking hard. “Big Mama is very sneaky. She might have coerced him into fighting. Fizz is with him, so he should be fine until we get there.” He looked to Donnie, his mind swirling with unfinished ideas. “Don, can you find the quickest route?”

Donnie barely looked at him. “I was already on it. There.” He finished tapping into his wrist communicator, and a small square projected map hovered above it. “If we cut around this Crying Titan thing, we can make it there faster than if we follow the path.”

Leo squinted at a picture of the place. It looked almost like a graveyard. “Creepy. But we don’t have much choice if we want to find Raph.” He straightened up and glared towards the looming shadow of the Battle Nexus in the distance. “Big Mama messed with the wrong brothers. Let’s move.”

The three brothers darted back into the streets, without a single hint that they had even been there in the first place.


	11. Monster Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle has arrived!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title is a reference to the song by Go! Child! please listen to their album coffee and ramen its so good
> 
> anyway! enjoy this chapter!!

The room, his prison, had been empty for hours. The noise outside had risen to terrifying levels. Whatever was coming had to be coming soon.

Red pulled himself away from the corner, facing the shutters at the other end of the room. He pulled the hood of his sweater up to cover the back of his neck, and rubbed his face, trying to ignore the fact he wanted to cry.

“Raph is alone…” 

A sudden sliver of light splashed across the floor, and a grating sound turned his head upwards to the shutter. They were opening.

“...Have to get out.” Red settled into a defensive stance. Time to go.

-

Fizz sprinted into the arena the second the shackle around his ankle had burst out of existence. The area had been transformed into a blocky, suburb-like environment, with miniature houses only about as high as his torso. He glanced around, looking for weapons, and caught sight of the wall at the other end of the arena sliding upwards. The distant silhouette of a bulky turtle was visible for a moment, before it darted behind some of the blocks and out of view.

“Oh, shit.” Fizz muttered. He’d been hoping Raphael would spot him immediately, so he could have a chance to calm him down before having to fight him, but it seemed that wasn’t going to be the case. He clambered up onto the houses and started jumping across them towards where he saw Raph. “Raphael! C’mon, dude, I gotta get you outta here!” He peered over the edge of the prop house he’s stood on. Nothing. “The quicker you stop hiding, the faster I can get you home!”

“Home?” Fizz jumped, and stared down the row to see Raph looking back at him. “...No home. Only Raph. Have to leave.”

He slowly lowered himself back down to the ground. “Yeah, dude, you do. Your brothers? What’s gotten into you?” Raph started mumbling to himself. Whatever had happened to Raph when Big Mama found him, he didn’t seem to be taking in any words Fizz was saying. “Come on, I have to get you out of this damn arena…” He reached to pull Raph’s arm, and didn’t realise his mistake until the turtles fist connected heavily with his chest, knocking him backwards.

The crowd went wild, and the pounding in Fizz’s head matched the beat of the masses slamming their feet into the ground, yelling for further violence. He took a second to breathe, the coughed out dust while trying to lift himself back up to his feet. 

“That… was one hell of a hit.” He glanced back over at Raphael, only to see he had vanished again. “Oh, hell.” He backed up into the wall of one of the blocky houses, thinking desperately. Raph hadn’t always been this paranoid, had he? He’d mentioned that he’s not good with being alone (a fact he severely regretted passing along to Big Mama), but did that really warrant this level of hostility? 

A battle cry above him startled him back to reality, and he ducked to the side just as a second punch slammed into the prop house, cracking the illusion momentarily before swinging back towards him, where it caught him in the shoulder. Raphael was attacking relentlessly, far different from his normal defensive style, and Fizz had no fucking idea what to do. 

“Raphael! Buddy, c’mon, you  _ have  _ to relax, I can’t help you if you don’t calm down!” He darted to the side, trying to strike at the back of Raph’s head, but got caught by a kick that sent him into another prop house. Damn, they knew what they were doing with this illusion magic. That felt like real concrete. “Fine. We do this the hard way.”

Smoke erupted around them as he threw one of the pellets he stored in his pocket to the ground and swerved behind one of the buildings. Fizz fumbled for the pipe he had secured in his belt, pulling it out and swishing it through the air to test the weight; it was heavier than he would usually pick for a weapon, but it would do for knocking Raphael out quickly before this got any worse.

The cheering of the crowd picked up again as he ran back around the corner, spotting Raph crouched at a distance with his back to one of the structures. He winced, but didn’t slow down as he sprinted towards his friend. 

“Lights out, big guy!” Fizz shouted as he brought the pipe down overhead, but felt a jolt in his arm, a lurch, and then weightlessness. 

Did Raph just fucking  _ throw him? _

His question was answered in half a second when he felt his back collide with the side of the arena, and heard a horrible crack that he really,  _ really _ hoped had been the stone. He fell to the floor, dropping the pipe and clutching at his skull. His head was ringing, or the crowd was screaming, or it was both. It hurt too much to think about the difference. Raphael really had been holding back… 

“Raph! Raph, can you hear me, big guy?!”

A different voice cut through the shrill tones of the audience, and Fizz carefully looked to the stands to see Raph’s brothers rushing their way through the crowd. How did they even get here?

“Fizz! How the hell did he get like this?!” The purple one, Donnie, shouted down at him. Fizz just shook his head, trying to clear it enough to form words.

Raph had been standing a short distance from Fizz, preparing for another punch, when the voices caught his ear. He glanced up, and for a moment Fizz felt relief that maybe, Raph would snap out of whatever this was, but it was shattered when all his friend did was growl and turn back towards him. Fizz stumbled to his feet just in time to dodge the second slam that connected with the stadium wall, and recalled when Raph had held back on a similar punch that he claimed would have ‘crushed his skull’. 

“Don’t-  _ agh-  _ Don’t know. Big Mama left him alone, I think.” Fizz shouted up, strafing around the sides to get closer to the other turtles. “If I can knock him out, I can get him out of here!”

“Haha, yeah, good joke,  _ Fizz!”  _ Mikey yelled back, pummeling the mystic shield around the arena. He was much more angry than usual, unleashing his weapon on the barrier. “Raph’s unstoppable like this! Have fun, idiot!” Fizz was stunned for a second, before spotting Raph running after him, and took off again.

“Mikey! Quit distracting the fish!” Leo was busy slicing at the barrier, trying to avoid hitting any of the crowd. “Fizz, the last time we got him to calm down by using recent memories. I don’t care what you have, just do  _ something!”  _ A few of Big Mama’s bellboys started making their way through the seats towards the three brothers.

“On it!” Fizz didn’t quite believe that Raph was unbeatable; he was pretty sure he could still knock him out pretty easily if he could just get the drop on him, and the classic Sharkbait technique would be perfect. If that didn’t work,  _ then  _ he could switch to the touchy-feely emotions plan of theirs. He span around, dropping a handful of smoke bombs, before darting in a circle  around his friend and shutting his eyes.

“C’mon, work…” He opened them again, and a bright golden light emanated from them. Now all he had to do was wait for Raph to come to him, and-

A direct tackle from the front knocked him over, two giant hands pinning his shoulders into the ground as a furious growl rang through his ears. Shit. The pain was unbearable as he felt Raph slam his head into the ground, rattling his brain around his skull. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Maybe he couldn’t take Raphael down his usual way, but what had Leo said? A recent memory… He could already feel his consciousness slipping away, so really it was now or never. He pulled his hands up warily as Raph had stopped trying to shatter his bones, and placed his palm on Raphael’s cheek.

“Raphael. I fixed your bandana, I wanted to spar with you, I’ve done all this shit that’s somehow brought you here and I am so sorry.” The growling started back up, and he shut his eyes again. “You carried me to your lair, I acted like I hated it but it felt really nice and you were super sweet about it! Listen, I don’t know what caused this, but I should never have bothered you in the first place. You just…” Fizz sighed, then winced as he felt the pressure on his chest increase. “Alright, fine! You’re amazing, okay?! You’re kind, and you don’t want to hurt people, not even me! I don’t fucking understand you, but I wish I could! You make no fucking sense!” He opened his eyes a little, and saw Raph staring down at him. Fizz took in a shaky breath. “You… I like hanging out with you. I like  _ you, _ Raphael, I just… need you to come back. Please.” He coughed, violently. “Or at least before you crush me, you heavy bastard!”

Tears were falling from his friends eyes now, and Raph blinked a few times. His third eyelid opened, slowly. “Fizz?” 

“Oh. It did work.” Fizz muttered, trying to push himself up a little, but fell back down to the ground weakly, his head thumping against the dusty surface. The hand that had rested on Raphael’s face fell back down to the floor along with it. “Don’t… worry about it, Raph. Good job.”

“What…” Raph looked down at his hands, then at Fizz, and then up at the cheering crowd as horror crossed his face as he realised what was going on. “W-wait, I didn’t mean… Fizz?! No, no, hold on! Fizz!” He tried to pull him up, supporting his head and shaking him gently. “I’m sorry! Are you okay?!”

But his world was going dark, and Fizz couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore.

-

_ Pretty decent first win, if you ask me. _

“Shut up.” 

Raph sat nervously outside the Battle Nexus, Mikey and Donnie sat on either side of him. Leo was wrapping a bandage around his arm, and frowned up at him. 

“So this is a problem you’ve had for a while, I guess. Mind Raph isn’t just you, he’s… another person?” He finished tying the bandage and stood up in front of him. Raph looked away.

“In my head, yeah. I think so.” Raph gestured vaguely. “And… the other guy. Red. ‘Savage’ me. Whatever.” He tightened his hand around Mikey’s, trying not to cry again. “Can we talk about this later? I wanna go home.” 

Donnie looked at him. “Sure. Zeph is fine, by the way.” He turned back to his wrist communicator. “From what I can see on the cameras, he just had a few fractures in his arm and a mild concussion. Very lucky, really. He’ll be up and sparring with you in no time.”

“I’m not sparring with him again.” Raph stood up, ignoring the looks of surprise his brothers gave him. “I don’t think he’d want me to come back. Look, can we just leave? I hate it here.”

Mikey patted his arm, sympathetically. “Sure thing, Raph. Let’s get you home.” He shot Leo and Donnie a look, who had been making a face like they were going to argue. They glanced at each other, then nodded, and the four of them set off for the surface, as Raph desperately ignored the guilt pooling in his stomach.


	12. Message sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raph takes a nap. Fizz has a realisation. Mikey pulls off a heist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we go gamers....

_ Fizz: raph are you ok?  _

_ Fizz: im so sorry abt everything i swear i had no idea she’d do that shit  _

_ Fizz: are you there? _

_ Fizz: listen i just want to meet up to apologise _

_ Fizz: im really sorry for saying all that stuff it was dumb _

_ Fizz: just let me know if you want to meet up again _

-

Raph laid down with his back to the door, holding his bandana tightly in his hands. He’d had a talk with Splinter about his… brain situation. Donnie had identified it as dissociative identity disorder, and until they figured out how to handle this new information, Raph had been keeping his distance. Mostly out of guilt.

He wondered if Fizz was okay.

Raph scrunched his face up, and pressed his palms against his eyes to stop himself from crying. Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it.

There wasn’t even much to think about, that was the problem. He didn’t even know what he did.

_ Fractured arm, and a mild concussion. That’s what Donnie said. Technically speaking, not that bad. _

“Can you leave me alone?”

_ Not exactly. _

Raph grumbled and turned over, pulling the blankets over his head. Thankfully, the buzzing of his phone had stopped, and he no longer had to think about whatever messages he was receiving. 

Probably Fizz, telling him not to come back to the Hidden City. If it wasn’t that, it should be.

He shut his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

-

The kettle let out a high-pitched hiss, and Fizz stood up from the table to pour his coffee. Tundra looked up at him, then back at the phone that he’d left on the table. “Nothing?”

Fizz shook his head as he picked up the kettle. “Nothing yet. I really messed up, Tundra.”

“You’re telling me. You do remember me and Moi got knocked out, right?” Tundra glared at him, then looked at the mug that was being filled with hot water. “Careful with that.”

“I’m always careful.” He ignored the irony of the statement, and sighed. “I’m sorry to you guys, too. If I had known… ah, ow.” The hand holding the kettle started to shake, and he hastily put it down. “Actually, Tundra, can I get some help here?” 

Two fuzzy arms picked him up suddenly, and he yelped in surprise. Tundra looked at him, face deadpan. “Yes. You’re going back to the couch.” She started carrying him to the main room, as Fizz frowned at her.

“Tundra, I’m fine. Ugh.” He crossed his arms, but allowed himself to be laid back down on the couch, pillow under his head. “Can you at least bring my coffee through?”

“I’m making you a decaf. You need rest, Zeph.” She gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head, and walked back to the kitchen. “Don’t you dare get up again!”

He grumbled, but allowed himself a small smile. At this point, Tundra was more his big sister than anything else. Moi was… a weird cousin. They were currently out, getting more painkillers, and had been furious about being put on ‘house arrest’, which had actually been Big Mama sealing them within their own apartment until the battle had finished. Moi had given Fizz a long lecture about giving your boss vital information, before storming off and refusing to talk to him until Tundra had mentioned Fizz’s concussion. At that point, Moi was too far into their sulk to change their tune, so they resigned to being exceedingly grumpy about helping out while Fizz recovered.

“Can you bring my phone through, too?” He shouted through to the kitchen. “I know Raph probably doesn’t want to talk to me, but I… just want to check.”

“Zeph, rest. I swear to god, I’ll knock you out myself.” Tundra walked back through, holding his favourite mug (rounded handle, smooth finish, smooth cat pattern. The best style of mug.) and his phone. “I’ll keep holding your phone. If you get a message, I’ll let you know.” 

Fizz sighed, sitting up slowly and taking the mug. “Thanks. Man, I just…” He sipped the coffee, shifting his pillow so he could rest his neck against the back of the couch. “I want to know if he’s okay. I had no idea that Big Mama would fuck his shit up that badly.”

“What even happened?” Tundra sat next to him, settling into a cushion. “I didn’t wanna watch the replays. Seemed too weird.” 

“I told Big Mama he freaks out when he’s alone. I didn’t know how intense it actually was.” Fizz leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “She left him alone for twelve hours. When I saw him in the arena… It wasn’t even him, Tundra. He was terrified, and paranoid, he didn’t know who I was. He didn’t recognise his brothers, either.”

Tundra gave him a reassuring squeeze on his arm, encouraging him to continue.

“So, I tried to knock him out quickly. He was a lot more stressed, a lot more unpredictable. The Sharkbait move didn’t work, so… I tried to talk to him.” He placed the coffee mug on the table next to him and rubbed his arms. “I told him I liked spending time with him, and stuff. He calmed down, but I passed out.” Tundra was looking at him, and he looked away. “Don’t give me that look, you jerk. I was desperate.”

The witch sighed. “Can we please talk about this? This whole issue with you sharing emotions? Don’t you think there's a problem when you’re only honest with your friends when they’re about to kill you?” Tundra frowned at him, and he frowned back into his mug.

“He wouldn’t have killed me. He’s way too nice for that. He’d sooner hold my hands than actually try to hurt me.” He smiled a little, then caught Tundra giving him a sly look. “What?”

“Zeph, you talk about this guy like he’s the sun itself.” She laughed at his flustered protests and poked his cheek. “I’m not even sure  _ you  _ know your own emotions at this point.”

He pushed her hand away, ignoring the heat rising to his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m recovering from a concussion. This is an unfair interrogation.”

“I’m not interrogating you. I just want you to be honest with yourself.” Fizz took a drink from his coffee, looking away from Tundra as she continued. “Look, I don’t know what you feel. But you do, and I’ve seen you happier in these last weeks than I have in months. Whatever this guy means to you, you  _ need  _ to tell him.”

What did Raph mean to him? 

Fizz loved sparring with him, even when Raph was so careful about attacking. He told him as much, but it was more than wishing he could be as gentle as Raph was. He loved how Raph was always smiling at him, even when Fizz could tell he didn’t feel like it. He hid his emotions, even if he didn’t notice it. He had the happiest laugh, and his voice cracked when he got excited. When he held his hands, Raph had held them so tightly, and given him a shaky grin. First meeting this turtle boy, he had no idea that they would actually end up being friends. He just thought he was some other tough-looking idiot from the Hidden City, but…

_ “You’ve got yourself a deal, pretty-boy.” _

God, that had been cute. He kind of wished Raph would call him that again.

His heart lurched.

Oh no. Wait.

Fizz stood up abruptly, and turned to his sister. “Tundra, do I have feelings for Raph?”

She laughed, and joined him standing up, steadying him. “You tell me, Zeph.”

“I… I think I do.” Standing up had been a mistake, and he could feel his legs shaking, but he didn’t care. He stared at his hands, the nauseous feeling receding from his stomach. “Oh,  _ shit _ .”

-

Mikey decided he’d had enough. Using his excellent,  _ superior  _ ninja skills, he’d managed to swipe Raph’s phone from his room while he slept. He’d been in there for two days, sulking and stinking up the lair with his sad stink. Enough was enough, his brothers decided, and sent Mikey on a mission to get him out the lair. He’d tried everything, including trying to purposefully get Raph mad enough to chase him, but he’d just rolled back over and ignored him.

So, phone stealing. Foolproof plan. Mikey hadn’t told his brothers about this part of the plan, but they didn’t have to know. All they needed to do was continue distracting Raph just in case he decided to leave his room. In the meantime, though… 

_ Mikey: hey fizz its mikey i stole ur number from raphs phone! _

_ Mikey: sorry for calling u an idiot lol :D  _

_ Mikey: anyway raph wont leave the lair or his room or anything idk if u recovered from the concussion yet or not but likeeeee can u meet me at huesos at some point plssss we have to get raph moving again it sucks when hes like this :( _

_ Mikey: txt me back when u get this okie byeeeee _

There. Perfect. There is no way this can go wrong.

Mikey carefully snuck back into Raph’s room and placed his phone back in it’s charging spot. He gave his brother a gentle pat on the head and smiled slightly.

“I’m sorry, Raph. You’re gonna be okay soon, I promise.”

-

Fizz squinted down at the bright light from his phone. He glanced back at Tundra, who had retreated to the kitchen. “Hey, can you take me to Run of the Mill tomorrow? I’m gonna meet Mikey.”

“Only if you agree not to pull some dumb bullshit.” The tired response came through. Fizz turned back to his phone, and started typing. 

_ Fizz: hi?? Yea i can meet up tomorrow apparently _

_ Fizz: tundra is letting me leave the house again now lol _

_ Mikey: THANK PIZZA GOD _

_ Mikey: also one last thing _

_ Mikey: FUCK u for getting my bro into that whole situation _

Tundra laughed behind him. Grinning, he shoved her away, resulting in a brief scuffle over the phone before picking it back up to respond.

_ Fizz: honestly thats fair _

_ Fizz: is he ok? _

_ Mikey: no idiot i just said _

_ Fizz: oh right _

_ Fizz: ok well see u tomorrow at huesos  _

_ Mikey: see u then!! ;P  _

  
  



	13. Hold On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo and Raph have a serious talk. Mikey orders takeout.

“Raph, you gotta come out to eat. I know for a fact you only ate once yesterday.” Leo poked at his older brother, who was sitting on his bed playing with his rubix cube. “I promise nobody is gonna be too loud. Donnie and Mikey went to get pizza.”

“...Fine.” Raph slid off the blankets, pulling them and his favourite teddy bear into his arms as he walked out the room and to the kitchen behind Leo. He sat opposite him at the table, and pulled the blanket up over his head. 

“Listen, Raph… I know you don’t wanna talk about it, but you’ve hardly left your room for days.” Leo sighed, sincerely hoping he wasn’t about to push Raph away again. “Can I ask you one thing? I promise I’ll shut up afterwards.”

Raph pulled the teddy closer to him, giving Leo a quick glare. “Can’t believe you talked me outta my room for this, but I know I haven’t talked to any of you properly yet, so… fine. You get one question.”

“Alright.” Leo looked back into his brother's tired eyes, wondering when the last time he slept properly was. “Do you really never want to see Fizz again?”

Raph looked down at his hands on the table, still playing with the puzzle toy. “Of course I want to see Fizz again. But I don’t think I should.” He clasped it in his hands. “I hurt him, Leo. I never wanted to actually win, I just… wanted to spend time with him. I didn’t want to beat him, but I did. I failed.” He hunched over further, pulling the blanket around himself tighter.

Leo felt a pang in his heart for his older brother. “Buddy… It’s not your fault. You were scared and panicked. Remember after the sewer incident?” Leo put his hand on Raph’s arm. “None of us blamed you for that. And if that stupid fish has any sense, he won’t blame you, either.” He gave his brother a pat, and added; “Or I will maim him. Personally.”

Raph chuckled weakly and nodded. “Yeah, I guess. I’ll message him eventually, I’m just scared he won’t want to talk to me. I don’t think he’d be scared of me, or anything, but he probably doesn’t like me much anymore.”

He blinked, surprised. “Are you serious? Do you not remember what he said in the arena?” Raph just looked at him, a blank expression on his face. Leo felt his heart sink. “Oh, wow. You don’t, huh?”

“What?” Raph pressed, but Leo looked away, awkwardly. “Leo! What did he say?!”

“Man, you’re really gonna make me help the guy, huh?” Leo sighed, and waved his hand vaguely. “He said a bunch of stuff. He likes hanging out with you, he likes how sweet you are, etcetera. He also mentioned he liked it when you picked him up, I know, eugh.”

Raph gaped at him, stunned. Leo just took that as an invitation to continue.

“He also straight up said he likes you, dude. That’s why Dee and Mikey are meeting him at Hueso’s.” He started to stand up, intending to make them both a cup of tea, when he felt the table shake with a sudden force.

“They’re getting Fizz? They’re bringing him _here?!_ ” Raph burst out. Leo nodded. Raph’s previously flustered face had turned to horrified. “I gotta go.” Leo could only stand there, eyes wide, as his brother sprinted out the room.

When he was certain Raph had gone, he let the mock surprise fall from his face, and he pulled out his phone to call Donnie. Ha, Leo was the best at plans. No way this could fail.

-

Fizz sat by himself at a table, giving a nod to Hueso as he passed by to another customer. Tundra had dropped him off earlier, telling him not to take too long, and giving him a quick hug before leaving. He kind of wished that she’d stayed with him, as his nausea was returning, but whatever. He was here now. 

“Fizz! Hello~, fishboy!”

Ah. Fizz glanced up at the door, seeing Michelangelo and his taller brother standing there waving at him. Donnie glanced over to the skeleton.

“Greetings, Hueso! Here to pick up one meat-lovers pizza and a dumbass fish yokai to go.” He shot Fizz a grin, and Fizz weakly returned it, standing up to greet them.

“I’m technically a shark yokai, actually, but only technically.” He said, smiling. “Thanks for inviting me. Sorry about all of this, I never…” Mikey immediately waved his hands in Fizz’s face, cutting him off.

“Blah, blah, okay! Everybody’s sorry about everything, let’s just get this pizza, baby!” The orange one spun around, giving out a smile like sunshine to the other customers around him. Fizz couldn’t help laughing a little, and followed after him. Donnie was already holding the pizza box, and quickly passed it off to his brother before wiping his hands on a napkin.

“Eugh. Greasy box.” He turned to the yokai, and held up a finger. “Okay then. Your mission is this, Sharkbait. Get our brother out of the house by any means necessary. This includes dragging him, fighting him…”

“Maybe not fighting him.” Mikey chimed in. They walked out the illusory entrance, and Fizz glanced around at the urban architecture; still weird, and way different from the Hidden City.

“Yes, maybe not. Okay, revisal: This includes dragging him, gently poking him in the arm until he moves, or blackmail.” Donnie looked towards him. “We have to get to the rooftops. You’re going to need a lift.” 

“Oh, I’m…” Another wave of dizziness washed over him. “Actually, yeah. What do you have in mind, exactly?” He hardly finished his sentence before a kind of jetpack-seat thing extracted itself from the shell tech the taller brother had on his back. “Oh, wow. That’s so fucking cool, man.”

“Built it myself.” Donnie could hardly keep the pride out of his voice as Fizz clambered onto the jetpack shell. “Classic bit of Donnie Tech.” 

Mikey started scaling the fire escape as Donnie and Fizz hovered up towards the roof. This was only the second time he had been on the surface of New York, and it was much more overwhelming than the time before. When he was last here, he and Raph had navigated the darkened back alleys to get to the sewer entrance; this time they were on the rooftops, and the scenery around him was simultaneously breathtaking and terrifying. He was so used to having the rocky ceiling of the Hidden City way above him, but up here the sky was open and vast. The New York skyline was lit up with multicoloured lights from skyscrapers and apartment windows, sparkling distantly. Fizz shrank down into the seat of the battle shell, knowing his eyes were probably shifting to a dark grey.

“What do you see in my brother?” The sudden question was so blunt, it threw him off balance for a moment. Fizz blinked.

“Huh?”

“I’m a genius, Sharkbait. Answer the question.” He couldn’t see Donnie’s face, but he didn’t seem angry. Fizz took a breath.

“He’s really nice. He’s a handsome guy, and I respect how strong and kind he is.” Fizz shrugged. “I’ve already had this conversation with my sister;. I don’t need to have it with you.”

“That’s fair.” The rotors on the battle shell slowed, and they came to rest on a rooftop. Fizz carefully climbed off the seat, as Mikey came to a tumbling stop next to them. Donnie retracted the extensions, and turned to face him. “I’m not an ‘emotions’ guy. Just be a good person, don’t knock him out again, and I’ll allow it.”

“Funny joke, Dee!” Mikey slung his arm around his brother's shoulders. “We all watched you cry at ‘Up’ the other day.”

“Who _hasn’t_ cried at ‘Up’, Mikey?!” Donnie exclaimed, but was cut off by the sudden tones of a phone ringing. He turned away, tapping at his headphones. “You are conversing with Donatello.”

Fizz looked at Mikey questioningly, who shrugged at him. “No idea. Probably Leo getting hunger pains again.”

“He _WHAT?!”_ The two of them jumped, and stared at Donnie as he flailed his arms. “How did he find out?! … What do you mean you told him?!” He turned to the other two with a panicked face. “Raph figured out what we’re doing. The good news is, he’s out of the lair now.”

Mikey let out a yelp. “Bad news, he’s leaving the area fast!” He pointed back in the direction they came, and Fizz turned to stare at a rapidly retreating silhouette on the opposite buildings. He cursed under his breath, and gathered his remaining energy.

“Screw this. I’m going after him!” And Fizz took off. The rooftops were relatively flat, they should be easy to jump across. Screw the ‘recovery process’; no way Raph is getting away that easy again. He turned back briefly to the other turtles. “I’ll bring him back! I know where he’s going!” And with that, ignoring the brief flash of pain that shot through his head, he took the first leap across the gap.

Emptiness sailed below him, and for a moment he thought he was going to crash into the ground… and then his boots connected with the concrete again, momentum and desperation spurring him forward towards the shrinking red dot in the distance, and he kept running.

-

Donnie frowned at the retreating shapes, then spoke back into his headphones. “Leo, did you tell him on purpose?”

The smug reply came back. “You can’t prove anything, Donnie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter's the last one! here we goooooo


	14. Karma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feelings are finally shared.
> 
> Song associated with this chapter: Your Heart Is A Muscle by Carly Rae Jepsen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *passes out* I DID IT. ENJOY

The pounding in his head had increased, but he kept running. Fizz had been sprinting after Raph as he ran all the way through the Hidden City, leaving Fizz in the dust as he made his way towards the docks. He knew that exerting himself right now was possibly the worst thing he could do, but he couldn’t stop running now. He’d pushed Raph away enough, intentionally or not, and he wasn’t about to let him slip away after all this. Not now.

He finally felt one of his legs give out; he had expected it, obviously, so he took a route behind the houses with a softer dirt path, and only fell briefly onto his knees, scraping them as he hastily stood back up and kept going. There was no way Raph was going anywhere else but the warehouse, so at least he wasn’t worrying that Raph was no longer within view. 

He could see the warehouse as it loomed into view. He paused to catch his breath, and thought for a moment. Fizz really didn’t want to mess this up; he’d only just realised he had these feelings for Raph, and didn’t want to think too much about how long he’d ignored them. This had to be done  _ right. _

Fizz inhaled, deeply, and walked towards the building.

-

Raph sat in the far corner of the warehouse, curled into himself with his knees brought up to his chest. He rubbed his eyes and pulled up the hood of the hoodie Donnie had made him; he’d cried a little on the run here, and he felt kind of dumb about it. He wasn’t sure why he ran here, but it was the only place he felt he could go, except April’s. He didn’t want to bother her with this though, it was stupid and he didn’t want to answer questions, but- 

He heard Fizz stumble into the warehouse behind him, pushing the door open. 

Shit, he should have gone to April’s.

“Go away, Zeph.” He pulled his knees closer, and hid his face.

“If you really didn’t want me to find you, then you wouldn’t have come here, Raph.” Fizz walked over to the turtle, and sat down next to him. “You don’t have to talk to me, but I want to talk to you.” Raph didn’t respond. “I honestly never meant for any of this to happen. I know you must think that I hate you now, but I promise you I don’t.”

“It would’ve been better if you never met me.” Raph muttered, then yelped as Fizz smacked him in the arm. “Hey!”

“Don’t say that shit to me, Raphael!” Fizz exclaimed. “You’re the first friend I’ve made in years! Hanging out with you is the best part of my fuckin’ day! And you have the audacity to say I shouldn’t have met you?!”

Raph was silent. This really wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have. He heard Fizz sigh, and the creak of wooden planks as he leaned back. 

“Do you have any idea how happy you make me? I love being around you, Raph.” The turtle felt his breath catch in his throat, but Fizz carried on, oblivious. “Don’t make me say it again.”

The weight of the words settled over the silence. Raph slowly uncurled himself, and turned to look at Fizz. “What do you mean? I hurt you. I attacked you.”

“Yeah, and how many times have I attacked  _ you  _ these past weeks? We’re sparring partners, dude. It’s what we do.” He nudged him with his shoulder. “C’mon, man. I’m not gonna judge you for that.” 

Raph carefully bumped back into him. “Okay, sure. But I’m still really sorry, and I’m definitely buying us both a pizza.” His voice shook slightly as he spoke, trying to hold back the tears he was desperately pretending weren’t there.

“Don’t apologise, you dork. Besides, I lost. I’m buying the pizza.” Fizz leant against Raph’s shoulder, and he tensed. A few tears slid down his face as the yokai continued. “Trust me, this isn’t even the worst I’ve been after a battle. Besides, I should be the one apologising. In the meeting with Big Mama, I…” He stopped.

“What?” Raph looked down at him, confused. He watched as Fizz sat back up, and wrapped his arms around himself. “Fizz, you don’t have to talk about it if it’s too much.” But Fizz shook his head.

“This whole thing was all my fault. I shouldn’t have agreed to any of her stupid deals. Raph, I’m so sorry... I told her you get weird when you’re alone.” He shut his eyes. “If I had any idea how bad it was, I swear, I never would have said anything. You don’t know what she’s like. I can’t lie to her, Raph, I can twist the truth, and I can trick her, but... lying to her is impossible.”

Raph didn’t really know what to say. He knew Big Mama was a force to be reckoned with, for sure. Even he and his brothers had been fooled by her when they first met (excluding Leo), and Leo had told them all about how he outsmarted her when he and Pops fought in the Battle Nexus, so tricking Fizz into giving up information makes sense. Not that it didn’t hurt, but… 

Big Mama had talked to him on the verge of a breakdown, once. Maybe she’d figured out part of it then? Scary.

“Are you going to go back?” Raph asked, quietly. “To carry on working for her, I mean.”

“I don’t have a choice. I wish I didn’t have to, but it’s kind of my only option.” Fizz shrugged, still not looking Raph in the eyes. “I’m not making any more stupid deals with her, though. The only reason I made the original deal in the first place was to keep Heinous Green off my back.” 

“How did you even end up working for her?” Raph asked. “She’s kind of a nightmare.”

“She got me out of a tough spot.” Fizz fidgeted with his necklace, nervously, “I left a gang, not exactly smoothly, and she already knew me and offered to pay me to fight once a week.” Fizz smiled at that. “I met Moi at the same time. They were my first opponent.” He relaxed again, stretching his legs out. “They totally kicked my ass, left me with poison in my blood system. That was one of my worst battles.” 

Raph smiled, pulling the hood of his hoodie back down. “My worst injury was the dump truck incident. Dad didn’t let me leave my room for a week after that.” 

Fizz let a sad smile creep onto his face. “When I first fought Heinous Green, Tundra made me stay in bed for ages. Me and the old gang had stolen something from a place he was staying at, and he literally threw me into Witch Town. Hit the stones and cracked, like, all my ribs.” He laughed at the memory. “That’s when I first met Tundra, actually. She picked me up and brought my stupid ass to a healer.”

Raph laughed with him, cautiously leaning back into him. “Look, uh, Fizz… I don’t blame you for telling Big Mama. And I really don’t want to spar anymore. I probably should’ve just said, but I like hanging out with you. You’re, uh… really cool, and stuff.” He was definitely blushing right now, wasn’t he? Crap.

Fizz looked at him, surprised, then shook his head. “Yeah, it was an excuse for me, too. We can just do normal friend things, though.” He tilted his head to the side, resting his chin on Raph’s shoulder and looking him in the eyes. “You’re fun to be around. I’m also, like, super tired right now. Running was a very bad idea.”

Raph blinked, then looked away, flustered. “Maybe you should lie down, or something. You’re still supposed to be recovering, right? Or…” A gentle hand pressed to his cheek interrupted him, and he turned back to see Fizz smiling softly at him. “Fizz? Am I talking too much?”

Fizz laughed quietly, shaking his head. “Raph. Can I kiss you, please?”

Raph actually thought his heart stopped. The whole world stopped moving and he couldn’t look anywhere else except directly into Fizz’s golden eyes. He couldn’t even nod. 

Raph just cupped Fizz’s face in his hands, and leaned in to kiss him first.

It only lasted for a few seconds, before he pulled himself back and put his hands over his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut. “S-sorry. Um.” He felt both of Fizz’s hands pull his own away, and opened his eyes to see the yokai smiling, dazed.

“Don’t… don’t apologise. I asked first.” Fizz grinned, then put his own hands to his mouth. “Oh my god, you kissed me.” He let out a soft, surprised laugh.

It was so cute. What the hell.

Raph couldn’t process this. Had that actually just happened? He kissed Fizz. He was just a mutant living in the sewers, and until finding the Hidden City he hadn’t considered anything like this was even a possibility, but… 

“Raph?” He blinked, and saw Fizz looking at him. “You okay?”

“F-fine. Raph’s fine. You’re okay with this whole… situation?” Raph gestured vaguely at himself. “I mean, I live in the sewers, and you’re a super cool celebrity champion.”

Just like that, Fizz’s confident exterior shattered. “W- You- Shut up! I can’t believe you just...” His face flushed. “You’re so fuckin’ sweet! What the hell! Of course I’m okay with it! Wait, c’mere…” He wrapped his arms around Raph’s shoulders, and pulled him into a hug. Raph returned it, holding Fizz tightly to him. “You’re awesome, Raph. You’re super handsome, and you fight bad guys up on the surface like some kind of comic book hero. I wouldn’t have asked to kiss you if I didn’t want to.”

Raph smiled, resting his head in the crook of Fizz’s neck. “So… what now? Are we, like… boyfriends?”

“If you wanna be.” Fizz pulled back, hands still on Raph’s shoulders. “Do you?” 

Raph couldn’t stop a goofy grin spread across his face. “Yeah! I, uh, do have to get back to the lair at some point, though.”

Fizz leaned back into the hug, and smiled up at him. “Yeah, I did say I’d bring you back. Never said right away, though.” He laughed, and Raph kissed him again, the nervous fluttery feeling in his chest still not quite gone. 

-

Morning sunlight filtered through the tall window, casting small shadows across the room from the tall chair that stood before it. The room was silent, except for a quiet conversation taking place at the desk.

“So, what, you just want us to watch the kid?” Leonard stood in front of his boss with his hands in his pockets, frowning at her. “You know we ain’t babysitters, right?”

“Yeah!” Mickey piped up, from his side. “We’ve got our own jobs to be doing!” Danny nodded, next to him, but they all jumped when Big Mama stood abruptly from her seat.

“All I require of you is to inform me when he travels to the surface!” She smiled at them, clasping her hands behind her back. “Surely such spiffulant gentlemen like yourselves can do even the  _ smallest  _ task for your dear superior. Besides, I have quite the event coming up, and need everything taken care of properly!” She looked Leonard directly in the eyes, a dangerous red glint sparkling in her own. He gulped, and nodded.

“You got it, Big Mama.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this fic!!
> 
> When I first created Fizz as a boyfriend for Raph, I didn't actually think people would like him, let alone be interested in the little origin story I made for them! I'll be making more little stories about the two of them until I start their next adventure!
> 
> In the meantime, look out for more oneshots of these good boys and for my next long fic, which will be about Casey, April and Sunita! You can find me on twitter @autisticraph and tumblr @candylestrade! 
> 
> <3 ur support means the world to me!!!

**Author's Note:**

> i talk a bunch about zeph and raph on my twitter @candylestrade! come yell abt them with me


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